


Serenity Falls

by EchoGalen



Series: The Trials and Tribulations of Achieving Serenity [2]
Category: Lost Girl
Genre: Developing Relationship, Dubious Consent, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-26
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2017-12-30 14:06:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 72,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1019530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoGalen/pseuds/EchoGalen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tamsin is gone and the purple eyed impostor has taken her place. Will Lauren's love be able to stop the rampage that the now undying valkyrie is on, or will she also fall into the despair, and war, of the fae?<br/>Sequel to Serenity.<br/>Copdoc with hints at Kale and maybe a little Dybo and Doccubus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Serenity Falls

**Author's Note:**

> You're fantastic! This is the sequel to Serenity and, as I said before, you're awesome to be reading it. I hope you enjoy and let's get started on this wild ride!  
> This will be a lot darker, hopefully, than it's predecessor as you can already tell by the change of ratings. I hope you all still enjoy.

_Running, that's all there was, just running. She had to get the girl somewhere safe._

_Safe, she laughed to herself as her lungs began to ache, there was nowhere in this complex, in the whole world, where she and the girl would be safe._

_There was a body coming up, his face was torn from what looked like a grizzly's claw marks, his blood pooled around the flooring beside and around him, and the blonde curtly jumped over it as she extended her hand for the girl to run around it. She wondered if she should have cut around it as well, show respect or something, but she was in the battlefield, and she knew there was no type of courtesy any longer for the dead._

_The blonde's eyes had to keep pinned in front of her, her ears tuned only toward her running breath, or else she would stop and help the wounded but yet to die fae warriors around her._

_She had to get the girl to safety. That was the_ only _mission._

_The human knew the girl trailing behind her would never forget that odor that was invading their nostrils, the wash of red liquid and darkness as they passed by the fae on the cold stone and linoleum ground. She forgot for a moment that the brunette beside her had lived for centuries, had waged battles the blonde could not even fathom, and it was all hidden behind her child-like features._

_The different rooms, their double paned doors, blurring as the two women ran by, huffing out long streams of air to only drink in more; futile attempts to stop the burn in their lungs from the deprivation of air._

_“The commander couldn't have done this,” the girl said raggedly behind her. Probably only to fill the stale air with something other than their strained breathing. “No way could the commander do all this.”_

_“Whatever is traveling down these halls is not the commander,” Lauren said furiously, out of breath as she tried not to trip on a smear of blood which she had not seen. With little less fury and a little more compassion she said, “It's not Tamsin.”_

_“Then what is it?”_

_“Shh, shh,” Lauren hushed, instead of having to dredge up what she thought could have made her lover turn into such a ravenous beast, dropping down into a corner which wasn't easily discovered. The human had found it almost four years ago after looking around the light fae complex on her own. It was down a long hallway that no one usually frequented, even though the murderous valkyrie had come down there herself only moments before to kill escaping guards, and the corner was in the deepest part of the area. There would be no way someone could find them if they just stayed quite!_

_“We can't just stay here,” the girl whispered, looking frantically into the eyes of the doctor. “We have to get out; get to the Dal, that's where your friends are, right?”_

_“If we leave this place, we'll be dead. If she's on a rampage... no one is safe.” Lauren wiped her bloodied hands onto her dark jeans, her fingers leaving nasty marks on her newly bought garments, and she kept frantically brushing them down her thighs. She had to get the blood off._

_“But she didn't kill us,” the girl almost yelled, and stopped as a hand clamped tightly across her mouth. Even as old as the girl was, she was still frightened by the way the doctor- no, she was a warrior now- glared at her._

_Lauren looked daggers at her and said, “She still killed, and is still killing, everyone else in this facility. What does that say?” Without taking her hand from the girl's mouth, after thinking for some time, she said, “We've got to get to Trick after all of this has died down; and only when it's_ over. _He'll know what to do to help her, he always-”_

_The blonde suddenly stopped as a freshly decapitated head rolled down into the crevice the two women were hiding. A blood spurt from the neck splattering the young girls' face, taking all of her power to not scream bloody murder from the sudden surprise. Not that it would have helped if she did stay quite, as just as Lauren perceived the severed head, it's eyes rolled into the back of it's head, a callused hand reached down into the small space they encompassed._

_Picking Lauren up by the collar, the assailant quickly lifted her the few inches from the crevice and threw her back behind her soon grabbing for the girl as well. The doctor hit the wall harshly and she slid to her ass as she closed her eyes tightly, trying to stop her head from spinning from the pain as her ears began to ring._

_Where once was almost transparent green eyes now burned violet, and the valkyrie that had grabbed Lauren looked back towards her as she put the girl down beside her gently. She didn't look angry, or upset, or anything resembling someone who had just taken the lives of over thirty sum people. They looked almost... sad._

_A hand reached out towards her, Tamsin's eyes burned a brighter shade of purple, and suddenly everything dimmed around Lauren's eyes, until everything went dark._

+++

The blonde doctor, lost in memory, barely realized when the black converted SUV she sat in rolled slowly in front of her apartment complex. The sun was just about to set behind it, it had already reached mid-day and she had no idea or memory of the day waning, and she looked up towards the orange sunlight slowly. Her brown eyes flitted across the sky and she wondered briefly how something so beautiful could happen on a day like this.

A day of fear and blood.

Shaking her head slightly, so slightly that the female driver that had pulled the car into park couldn't tell with her heightened eyesight, and she smiled humorlessly towards herself. Her eyes moved away from the window slowly and the woman looked into her lap where she slowly knitted then pulled her fingers apart. She wanted to roll her eyes at the nervous habit she had picked up so long ago, a long time ago and far away the blonde thought, and instead looked up toward the dash of the car.

The cars interior was just like the outside, black and shining, and she wondered if Carol her neighbor that was just coming out of the complex could see through the tinted glass. No, the woman thought mildly, even with Carol's superior fae eyesight, she wouldn't be able to see glass that was tinted and one way. Because that's what it was, she thought as her brown orbs slowly watched Carol her fairy neighbor walk in front of the car, looking at it suspiciously. The woman would not be able to see inside even if she tried, and the blonde had to stop her snort of disdain from reaching up her throat and cascading from her mouth.

Carol probably knew it was a fae vehicle if she really tried, her fairy ability could sense another of her kind in the vicinity, and instead of poking her nose into business that didn't have anything to do with her- which was a _very_ hard thing for the dark haired woman to do- she simply walked to her ordinary looking gray car, got inside, and drove away without a second glance. She probably knew if a fae drove the tinted car, it meant they didn't want any company, and the fairy was already frightened from all the late night visits the blonde had gotten since she moved to the apartment in the first place.

Looking over towards her driver, the doctor saw a very pretty fiery red haired female, her hair cut short and she had freckles spanning across her nose. In any other circumstance, the blonde would think she was beautiful, but not now.

God, not now.

The red head was still staring up at the apartment complex, probably compiling in her large brain how many exits and tenants would be living in a place that size, and it gave the blonde enough time to look at the driver and study her like the woman could do so easily. Her whiskey orbs traveled from the woman's face, which held cobalt colored eyes, and down to what she was wearing.

The fae driver was a warrior, there was no doubt about that, as she had a tight fitting black vest across her chest, presumably to hold her ammo clips and grenades she would most likely be carrying. Speaking of ammo, the blonde thought as her eyes traveled down to the side of the driver, where a compact looking black gun sat idly on her likewise black pant thigh. Her days in the military told the blonde it was a sleek M1911, which was basically a glorified .45 caliber handgun, and she wondered why the fae didn't use something that was more for assassinations that packed a punch but didn't leave much of a sound like the 9mm. Then again, the woman corrected herself, the fae beside her wasn't there for an assassination job and the gun she carried was excellent and light weight to pull out quickly if danger were to present itself.

Like what, the blonde snorted as she looked back towards her apartment complex. Like if I ran away? If I just... ran away.

And oh did the blonde which she could just run far from that place. Because that would be _real_ danger, she thought as she looked down and tried to think of how long it'd take her to open the SUV door, actually get out of the car, and begin to sprint down the street. The fae beside her was no doubt ordered to keep her alive, what else could she do really, and knew if she killed the blonde things would get... messy. Or messier, the blonde thought as she rolled her eyes slightly as she cocked her head to the side. So there was really no danger posed to her, but that didn't mean the fae wasn't allowed to show bruit force if she needed to; God knew the new owner of the light fae compound would do as much.

Shaking her head from the thought of receiving bodily injury from someone she cared for, the blonde sat there silently in the passenger side of the car and looked out in front of her. She remembered Christmas time like it was yesterday, the snow and the way the lighter blonde had almost jumped onto her bed to get her awake; one of the first and only times the detective had not left in the night. How they had gone outside, how the lighter blonde had looked up into the sky and stuck out her tongue as if it was her first time in the snow. The doctor had smiled and laughed, pulled down her black beanie she had worn to keep her ears from freezing, took the woman's hand, and led her to a very special place, one of the doctor's secret places, and had skated on the frozen over pond there.

Looking up to the wooden area now, however, showed nothing but light ferns and grown trees that stood barring the hidden path towards the pond. The woman tried not to smile at the memory of their first snowball fight, of the blonde's first Christmas with her, and of how she had gotten the woman to get out onto the ice in her first ice skating event.

It was a day of firsts, Christmas, and it seemed so far away from her mind in that moment.

Instead, she shook that memory off as well- there was no room for happiness and laughter- and she looked down towards her hands as they trembled slightly. She had to get away, maybe get to the Dal or run far away from the city entirely, she had to or she was going to be made to go back to that fearful place.

The doctor had been about to consider a fool proof plan to really try to escape, her eyes darting toward the driver and back towards the door, but the red head next to her finally spoke for the first time that car ride, her Irish drawl dripping from her lips like sweet melodies.

“Dr. Lewis, I think it's time to go inside.”

+++

It wasn't difficult getting to Lauren's apartment door. The red headed fae beside her had allowed the woman to walk in front of her without any such restraint, and the doctor took it with stride. However, Lauren thought as she rolled her eyes as she sauntered in front of the woman, the fae knew she could capture the blonde with little effort if she chose to run anyways; and they wouldn't want to cause a scene amongst a random fae coming out of their respective apartment. However, it wasn't as though the fae in the building wouldn't see the sidearm strapped to the woman's thigh in passing and stand clear immediately for fear of getting involved in authoritative fae business.

Placing her key into the locking mechanism after digging it out of a blood encrusted pocket, Lauren slowly unlocked her door and walked inside. Without a word from her, the fae stood outside of the domain and watched the doctor with sapphire eyes.

Turning, Lauren gasped slightly and said, “Oh, I apologize. Would you please come inside?”

The fae nodded curtly, her only thanks, and passed the threshold of the establishment. Her hands were behind her back and her torso out a ways, the standard stance when approaching a senior officer or standing at the ready, and Lauren briefly wondered if the woman was prior military. Did she know of Lauren's rank, or was she simply lost in habitual behavior?

Shaking her head, the doctor moved toward her research desk slowly, looked down, and flicked her eyes back toward the fae.

“May I get something to drink?” Lauren asked curtly, her mind dredging up buried memories of when she first entered the fae; of how she had to ask every time she wanted to do something so small for fear of doing the wrong thing and being executed.

Blue eyes turned on her, the fae had been scouting around the room slightly, and when the question was addressed to her, she immediately snapped back to the doctor. Looking toward the kitchen, all she could see from the doorway anyway, and assessing that the human wouldn't dare retrieve a knife to attack, the Irish fae nodded and gave Lauren her permission.

The doctor nodded back, hoping the red head wouldn't see her anxiety at being back in her apartment, and she turned and walked into her kitchen. Reaching for a glass out of the cupboard, Lauren slowly placed it onto the counter and then under the faucet. As she drank, her eyes would dart back toward the fae still standing in the middle of the doorway, looking around the doctor's home, and she gulped down the first liquid she had been able to down since two days prior.

Closing her eyes, and thinking of the last few days, seemed to be a strategic mishap, and Lauren had to open them almost immediately. Crimson liquid, death, screams, and more blood washed over her vision and if she hadn't been so accustomed to the first day of those events, she would have dropped her glass and heard it break apart in the sink. With a shaking hand, Lauren slowly placed the empty cup back down onto the counter, and cleared her throat.

Drinking in a long stream of air seemed to calm her nerves and the doctor moved back toward her research desk; expelling the thoughts that threatened to cascade over her vision again. Sweeping her hands across most of the papers, she quickly got them into format and placed them at the side of the desk. Looking up she shakily said, “These will need to go with us. It'll take some time to retrieve everything from the computer.”

The fae's right arm swept in front of her and she slightly pulled the shirt away from her wrist; checking her watch. “How long?” she asked, her blue eyes coming back to rest on Lauren again.

The human gulped and said, “I don't know. It'll take more time than I originally planned.” Lauren looked up at the fae and saw she wasn't making any headway. Clearing her throat she said, “I-I mean I found more information before your... master-”

“She is not my master, she is the Sovereign,” the fae interrupted, looking daggers at the doctor.

“-your sovereign,” Lauren reprimanded, “pulled me away two days ago. It will take more time to download onto the flash drive. Is that... acceptable?”

The Irish fae looked down at her watch again and said, “We still have time before the Sovereign has us due back. Continue.”

With a nod, Lauren looked back toward her open laptop and thanked God she still had it running from the previous days, and it had not lost power. Typing furiously, Lauren's whiskey eyes kept flicking back and forth from compiling the data and towards the fae who was moving around her apartment now, her curiosity getting the better of her as all types of her kind did.

Trying to start up some type of conversation, as the doctor's cell phone had been taken from her immediately and she couldn't very well email for help, Lauren said, “Your species is elves, right?” When the woman looked back at her, she tried to smile after she faltered.

“Yes,” the fae said, turning away from Lauren again to examine a small round placement table that looked like a tree stump.

“I worked on a elven child in the past,” Lauren continued, her eyes flying back and forth, “she was a very kind little girl; very bright.”

“As all elven children are.”

“Yes.” Lauren gulped as she bore a hole in the computer screen. If the report was accurate... “I-I have compiled all of the information, but it will take some time to download.”

“How long?” the fae said, coming over, almost leaning on the doctor's shoulder as she bent, and checking if Lauren was lying or not. She had put down a very expensive vase the doctor had bought when she first moved into the house, and thankfully the fae set it back where it had belonged.

“Ten to twenty minutes, at most.”

The red head checked her watch and looked back toward the computer, where the download rate had just begun. “We cannot bring the laptop back with us?”

“Not unless you want me to go through all of this again,” Lauren said, her brown orbs flying across the screen, “and some of the data may be lost since I can't save any of this. Besides,” Lauren knew there was no need to add any technical mumbo jumbo, as Bo would call it, to her speech even though she knew it was habit, and simply added, “your sovereign told you to bring the data back with us. If we make her wait any longer, she might get angry.”

Lauren saw the fae gulp slightly, oh so slightly but it was there, and she looked down to hide her half smile of victory.

“This is acceptable.” The fae looked back toward her watch and said, “But we must leave immediately when it is finished.”

“I wouldn't dream of anything else.” Lauren smiled and watched the fae look her up and down wearily. Dirty human, Lauren thought with a smile still on her lips, she thinks I'm a dirty human.

Passing across the room, the woman began playing with the vase again and Lauren moved from around her desk. Tapping her fingers behind her on the edge of the desk, she said, “Would it be alright if I went to take a shower?” When the fae turned she added quickly, “I haven't showered in two days. I would think your sovereign would want me smelling nice, don't you?”

“It was difficult arriving here in the inclosed space...” The fae looked over toward the doctor and the latter tried to hide her smile of disdain. She was tired of every fae in her life thinking they were better than her just because of their superior genes. “This is allowed, but be quick about it.”

“I will,” Lauren said, her hands flying up as her fingers slid through the air, “thank you. I won't be long.”

+++

The scruffy blond man shut his door swiftly and walked around his vehicle. Looking toward the compound he served in as he passed the nose of his car, he quickly got to the door and opened it with a smile.

“Milady.”

“You do this to all your girls?” the gypsy girl asked.

“Only the ones who have a thing for the boss.” The man smiled and looked over as the girl's face turned beet red, “Say, do you think you can get my hours lessened.” Before he reached the end of his sentence he began to laugh and hold up his arm to absorb the slaps his friend gave him from such an inquiry.

“Hale and I, psh, we're just... you know, friends,” Kenzi said aggressively, looking up at the wolf shifter and back towards the compound.

“Oh right, right,” Dyson whispered, falling into step beside the gypsy girl, “so there's a good reason for wanting to come suddenly after mentioning Hale, and not before.”

Kenzi looked up at his smiling and nodding face. “Gross, I'll vom,” she said, the only comeback she could say without giving away her true intentions. She was so not going to admit the wolf was totally right, and instead she simply walked beside him without a word.

It had been only a few days after they had freed the trapped slaves from the compound that Dyson had witnessed Hale and Kenzi sneaking off more “randomly” from the Dal Riata. Where once was simple teasing amongst friends, it was replaced with more longing stares and sweet smiles. It didn't take a genius to know what was happening between the two and Dyson wanted to ask how Hale's ascension to Ash went and the after party he had surely had. He smirked when he thought of his two friends finally accepting their attraction toward each other and finally becoming mates. He continued to smile, which drew some attention from the gypsy girl, as he continued to walk toward the building.

Before they reached the compound Dyson looked down and said, “How is Bo doing?”

Kenzi, who would have said some type of quip to accommodate for earlier, looked up at her friend and sighed as she reached up a hand to pat his back. “She's taking her mom doing a Houdini again pretty hard. You think Hale has any news?”

Dyson shook his head. “If he did he would have asked me here himself.”

The gypsy girl looked down as she nodded and said, “Yeah, why's the Trickster having us come here anyways; what are we picking up?”

Shrugging, Dyson sniffed the air and furrowed his brow. “He just wants me to ask if Lauren has the blue print worked out,” he said, looking down at Kenzi and smiling, “to become fae.”

“Oh that,” replied Kenzi, “the specs to become an all powerful fae-bot. What I'd kill for those.”

Dyson laughed, “I bet it'd make Hale so happy!”

“Keep that up and I'll skin you into a rug!” Kenzi yelled playfully, punching her friend in the arm as they came around the corner the doorway to where the building was housed.

Just as they got to the doors, where no fae guard stood the friends found, the wind picked up suddenly and blew straight towards them. Dyson sniffed slightly, uncaring but a little concerned that there was no guard, and just as he began to retrieve the remnants of smells from the air, he quickly grabbed Kenzi's arm and stood deathly still.

“Something's wrong,” the wolf-shifter whispered, sniffing the air again as his eyes devolved into yellow and black.

“What do you smell, D-Man?” Kenzi asked, her hand instantly retrieving the hilt of her small katana from her ever present backpack of endless supplies.

“Blood... death...” Dyson stopped to look down towards his friend, eyes slowly turning back to blue and white. “Get back to the car and stay there while I see what's happened.”

Kenzi scoffed, “I'm not letting you go in there alone! We're partners and for better or for worse, which by the way it can only be better, you're stuck with me.”

“Kenzi,” Dyson growled, “when I tell you to leave, you listen to me, understand?”

“Yeah, I got it. Now it's time to go Kenzi-Cop on whoever thought it was a good idea to attack the light fae compound.”

With a nod, the detective and the collector of rare wallets walked slowly into the stone hallways of the compound, hoping with their very last breath Hale would still be alive.

+++

Walking down the pristine stone hallways seemed to be a less lucrative business, as the partners in crime had been walking for five minutes with diminishing hearts and cloudy thoughts. It had been only the first few meters they had walked into the strangely heated compound when the familiar hallways turned into that of a battlefield. Dead bodies, blood, and internal organs and gore marked almost every crevice of the place as the two walked slowly down, trying to reach the heart of the complex, and it took all Kenzi had to not begin to run for fear of her newly ordained boyfriend's demise.

“Everything's going to be fine, right Dyson?” Kenzi whispered, trying to stop her erratic heartbeat. There had been a lot she had witnessed on the streets, when she lived in sewer systems, but the carnage that wrought the light fae compound was too much even for a wizened woman like herself. “Hale's going to be sitting pretty in the throne room and it's all going to be okay.”

“We've got to get to Lauren's lab,” Dyson replied, trying to not look back towards the girl and her fear. He had to have one mission, to find out what had happened at the compound, and everything else: keeping Kenzi safe, seeing if Lauren was alright, and finding Hale, was on secondary. If whatever had done the compound in was still inside, he would be sure to get Kenzi out immediately, sacrificing his own life for hers. The wolf wished the gypsy girl had gotten back to the car, they could have called Trick, Bo, anybody that could possibly help them, as the thick stone walls of the compound, even with many a window in sight, let little signal inside to be of much use if the tower was destroyed to keep everyone silent. If they at least got to Lauren's lab, they could find a landline to call out on, or use their cell phones as her lab had it's own landline running under it- so if the tower was cut from the rest of the compound, they would still be able to dial out-, and possibly find the doctor alive and safe trying to stabilize a few stragglers before they died.

And maybe even answers, Dyson thought as he went into a soft jog down the halls, making sure Kenzi kept up just behind him and none of them slipped in the rivers of blood marking the stones.

Finally getting to the lab, Dyson slowly placed his back a few inches away from the paned door, making sure Kenzi stopped just behind him as he had slowed, and tried to muster the courage to peek around the far right opened door. If whatever had taken out the guards were in the lab for some reason, he would most likely die instantly. Though, if he didn't look inside, there could be a chance he would miss a wounded Lauren and she would die without his help.

Taking in a whiff of air from the room, the wolf-shifter slowly recognized the newly acquired scent and turned his head to Kenzi. Looking into likewise blue eyes, the detective slowly nodded and waited for the girl to do the same. After she did, Dyson's courage crept up his chest with warmth and he elongated his fingers on his right hand into claws.

As the two entered the room, one with nails like razors, the other with a wicked “hi-yah” and her sword raised to her side, the friends witnessed the spotless lab; as if it was the only one that was untouched by the carnage outside, and saw a brunette girl they had met in passing sitting on the farthermost medical bed facing away from them. Dyson could barely pick up that she had been humming a few moments before, but when Kenzi had made her daring entrance, the brunette valkyrie had begun to whimper with fear.

“Keep an eye on the door,” Dyson huffed, his claws shrinking back into themselves as they became slight again. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the gypsy girl nod with determination written across her face and she raised her sword menacingly above her as she peered through the open door.

Turning back his main focus to the valkyrie he had met only two weeks prior, Dyson inched his way closer and reached out a hand. “Ætta, it's me,” Dyson said softly, only after speaking did he put his hand onto the girl's back. The brunette still flinched but she did not let out a scream. Coming around to face her fully, Dyson whispered, “Can you tell me what happened here?”

The girl's gray eyes slowly met blue. “You have to get out or she'll kill you.” It was spoken in no more than a rasping whisper and it effectively raised the hairs on the shifter's neck.

“Who did all of this?” Dyson pressed, “All the guards, is everyone in this facility dead? What about Hale?”

At the Ash's name, Kenzi stepped a few feet back from the door to hear the valkyrie's answer.

“I... I have to wait here for Lauren to get back. She's the only one that can stop her.” The girl looked up again, “You have to leave or she'll kill you next.”

Before Dyson could say a word, it was the gypsy girl that spoke, “I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but isn't this sounding an awful lot like a certain centuries old valkyrie's doing?”

Dyson looked up, “Kenzi, she wouldn't do something like this. There's no way Tamsin could do this much destruction.”

“If you don't take me away from here,” Ætta whimpered, clutching onto Dyson's shirt and balling it into a fist, “she'll destroy me and then Lauren.” The girl leaned in close and harshly whispered, “She'll kill.. everything.”

The fear in the girl's gray eyes was real and actual and Dyson had to backtrack at the pure intensity. “Kenzi,” he said, finally coming back into his bones, “get her out of here and to the car.”

“No way! I'm not leaving you in here with whacked out Tamsin; if she's on a rampage, I can calm her down.” Kenzi looked into the shifter's eyes, tried to convey the kinship the human and valkyrie shared together- if only slightly-, and knew she wasn't making any headway. “I can't just leave you, dude.”

“You're not leaving me, Kenzi.” Dyson moved through the small space between them and grabbed her shoulders slightly. “I'll find Hale, but I can't go on if I have to also protect you. Get to the car, and I'll be right behind you.”

“...You better not be lying, wolf breath.” Kenzi punched her close friend slightly in the arm, then after blinking rapidly she moved to Ætta's side. “Time to go, princess.”

Dyson watched solemnly as the human moved the valkyrie out of the lab without a second look back, for fear of coming back to the wolf or to not break whatever resolve she had come to, the girl did not look back. Instead of dwelling on it, Dyson took a deep breath, more than usual, and he put the smell of death, blood, and Tamsin out of his mind as he walked out of the lab and started to jog silently down the long hallway.

It wasn't a long way from the lab to the throne room, and Dyson pressed himself into the wall to not let a soul inside see him through the broken frosted glass paned doors. The blood accumulation and bodies were piled to the brim in the waiting room, and Dyson had to cover his nose slightly from the stench; they had all been sitting there for at least two days and their bodies reeked. Some of the bodies that were more recognizable had forming blisters on their skin, their bodies bloated. Dyson, before looking away, saw small streams of liquid leaking grotesquely out of the mouth, nose, and ears of the dead and he had to stop himself from retching. It had been a long time since he had seen these conditions, probably brought on so quickly by the strong heat wave running through the compound, and he wasn't fond of revisiting his past.

Looking around, he saw the two benches on either side of the doors were knocked over, presumably into the heads of two of the guards, as they came at a rest in their remains. The guard's misfortune helped the wolf shifter with much disdain, and he pressed against the wall tighter as he tried to peak into the room.

A small cut in the framed glass gave him ample vision into the throne room, and the first thing he witnessed made his heart skip a beat.

“You were her friend,” the violet eyed valkyrie was saying, her strength she was exuding just by speaking was extraordinary and it made the hairs on Dyson's neck stand on end, “and yet you did not give her freedom.”

“If I gave her the freedom you speak of,” the well spoken Ash said, his brown eyes staring defiantly upwards into purple, his cheeks slightly swollen from repeated abuse, his right eye black and blue, “she would have been dead before two days were up.”

“Protection could have been given to her, and yet you keep her your pet.” The valkyrie's foot came up to cross harshly into the Ash's face, his body falling to the floor as he could not stop himself for his hands were tied behind his back.

As he fell, Hale's eyes looked straight forward, into the broken glass of the doors, and saw none other than his former partner, no doubt there to rescue him. His brown orbs flicked back up to the valkyrie, who had looked up towards the ceiling with disdain, and his eyes rested back onto Dyson's. Shaking his head slightly, his face taught with fear, he got back onto his knees and looked at the valkyrie's lower torso in submission after groaning playfully and licking the thin line of blood from the corner of his lip.

“So what's your plan?” Hale asked sarcastically, understanding his fate better than his former partner did. “You're going to kill me, take over the light, so the people you care for won't be subjected to servitude?” He bit his bottom lip as he nodded, the valkyrie looking back down at him with what could have been sadness. “Guess what, when you go on this power trip, everyone you care for is going to die. I know you, Tamsin, that isn't what you want.”

The valkyrie quickly squatted down to eye level with the Ash, her hand falling to the hilt of the sword-Dyson wondered where she had gotten it as it was crafted metal from even before his birth- that was sheathed on her right side so it wouldn't scratch across the ground, she was so close to him that their noses almost touched and her face pulled up into a slight sneer in outrage. “Don't you ever speak to me as if you know me, Siren. I am not the one who keeps humans as slaves!”

“But you are the one that didn't care the fae have done it for centuries!” He challenged, his eyes never leaving the valkyrie's. “You found something so precious in this world that not many people ever find,” he became calm as he spoke, “I understand why this changed you. But you've gotta see that what you're doing here is wrong.”

“I'm trying to save them,” the valkyrie whispered, her eyes turning downcast as she moved slightly away from the Ash.

Dyson ducked back from the panel of broken glass and took a beat before looking back inward. He needed to get back to Kenzi soon, for fear the girl would follow his footsteps back inside and give away his position without meaning to.

His suspicions were correct, something _had_ happened to Tamsin to turn her into this, something so primal that it shook the valkyrie out of her own foundation she had built for herself. Whatever was happening, it was directly linked to Lauren as the valkyrie girl had said, and Dyson wondered briefly if taking Ætta with them would prove certain and quick death for all those in the Dal. But no, he reprimanded, he could not leave the girl in this gore invested facility. She had probably been around longer than the wolf shifter himself, but there was still some things you did not allow individuals to witness.

The valkyrie came back over to stand in front of the Ash, her eyes dim violet now, her delicate fingers running through her hair. “Once I change the fae to deny human involvement as slaves, when the ones I care for are safe, then my plight will be over.”

Hale shook his head, trying not to groan at the total destruction of the road he was trying to pave in the valkyrie's mind. “If you do this, Tamsin, there won't be any change. The dark and light will rise up and they will kill you and take everything you love. Lauren, the valkyrie girl- Ætta, Kenzi, Dyson.” His eyes flicked toward the glass when he said the wolf's name, and the detective's ears perked up. “Just take me to my office at the Dal, Tamsin. There's a parchment in there that I've been drawing up already. It relents to the slavery of humans amongst the light, we will ask them to stay with us but if they don't, we will offer them protection. I haven't done it for Lauren yet because she's just too...” The siren stopped and bit down on his lip, afraid he had just destroyed, yet again, his argument.

The valkyrie's eyes burned a brighter shade of violet and she said, “Valuable?” Her nostrils flared and she paced around the Siren, making the wolf shifter have to press himself into the wall again.

There was no way to help Hale now. If Dyson went in there, guns blazing- or claws, he thought bitterly- Hale would be dead in moments, most likely along with the wolf. There must have been a reason he had not used his siren whistle the entire time he had been taken prisoner by the valkyrie, it had been at least two days since this catastrophe started, and he knew if not even Hale could take her down, the wolf had little chance himself. Kenzi would hate him, he knew, but whatever the woman standing in front of him had become, there was just no way she would hurt Hale.

Wasn't that right?

+++

Huffing, Dyson got back to his car with ease, jogging slightly faster than he had before, trying increasingly less to stay silent to get away from those violet eyes. Puffing out a stream of air as Kenzi moved over quickly to the passenger seat, the valkyrie girl in the back, he turned the keys that were already in the ignition.

“Whoa, wait, where's Hale?” Kenzi asked, her blue eyes flicking back toward the compound then to Dyson. “Yo, D-Man, where's Hale?”

“Tamsin's got him,” he said simply, turning the car in the parking lot and screaming out of the compounds vicinity. The valkyrie must have been so focused on the siren, she did not sense another set of people inside the light fae compound, and instead of seeing that as a fortuitous event, Dyson simply didn't want to keep up the running of his luck.

“What the shit does that mean?” The gypsy girl fumed, her body pivoted to stare at the wolf, seemingly to turn the wheel to drive back to the compound.

“He told me there's something that could possibly help us at the Dal. Whatever it is, he risked his life trying to get the message to me.” Dyson looked over to his friend, “Something's wrong with her, Kenzi. Her eyes... aren't normal. She smells, the air around her is... wrong.”

“Whatever this secret message is better be worth Hale's life,” Kenzi mumbled, sitting down in the seat properly as she looked out of the window, effectively ignoring any words the wolf would say to her.

Dyson couldn't attempt to feel miserable at the misfortune that had plagued the group, Hale, and now Tamsin. He just had to keep driving and hope Trick knew how to fix his partner. For if he didn't, Dyson thought he would have to do something... drastic.

+++

Lauren bent down slowly in her shower, her delicate fingers coming to rest along the curvature of her lips, silencing her effectively from the sobs that racked her body. Hot tears streamed from her eyes, falling and mixed as they washed down the drain with the steaming water that pattered on the curvature of her back. The sponge that had been secure in her hand fell uselessly onto the soft linoleum of the shower flooring, it's vanilla smelling contents washing down the drain without her noticing, and she was slightly aware of how happy she was that she had gotten to wash herself before wasting the nicely smelling body wash.

Happy, Lauren would think if she could at the time, what was happiness in the last three days of her existence? It had been the worst, more brutal than any day she had lived with the fae, and it was all because of her own doing; the woman she came to love's doing.

She barely noticed when her hair unmat, the thick coats of blood trailing down the drain as well as she wept. The woman had effectively placed shampoo, and then conditioner, in the rain of curls minutes before and she was still surprised that the dark liquid was still entrapped there.

Combing her now freshly fallen hair behind her ears, she placed her outstretched hands together to collect the warm water, and washed it over her face for clarity. Closing her eyes was not a good thing, Lauren thought as she stood slowly in the shower, standing under the rain of water without moving. She had been washing herself slowly, closing her eyes to bask in the moment as she had not taken a shower- and had been covered in dried blood- for two and a half days, and immediately when she had shut her eyes, death, blood, and pain had washed over her.

Tamsin had made it a point at keeping Lauren, and sometimes Ætta, near her at all times. She had housed Lauren in one of the many chambers of the light fae compound with a magnificent bed, most likely Hale's, and had ordered the blonde to stay there. For the girl valkyrie, she was housed in the room right next door, an intercom set up one way so Tamsin would always be able to hear inside the room, just in case something happened.

Lauren had already been covered in blood, her jeans and shirt soaked through with it from Tamsin's attack on the guards that had wanted to drag the doctor out of her lab the first day. She had been forced to wear her attire for the next two days, except of course, while in bed. When she was above the sheets with Tamsin, it was a completely different story. The valkyrie's eyes would glow a dim violet, making it known that she was closer to who she really was than ever, and she would caress Lauren as if she had not gone on a murdering spree; the valkyrie would even begin to say small sarcastic quips here or there, making Lauren's heart sing with familiarity as the purple eyed valkyrie never spoke without definite means to her words as the green eyed fae had.

It was the only few peaceful hours the doctor had gotten for those days of violence and death. Every morning, however, the valkyrie would be gone and Lauren would awaken groggily in bed alone. She wouldn't lift her head, she didn't need to, as she heard the deathly screams of scavenger fae guards that were dying at the hands of the all powerful valkyrie. Lauren would simply lay there in bed, strands of hair cascading down her face, naked and warm, trying to forget the past few hours and simply remembering Tamsin's touch, the way it seemed softer, so much softer, than it had ever felt; as if the valkyrie was trying her hardest to not hurt the human.

Instead she would wait until Tamsin came back to her, usually at night after she had slain all of the guards that opposed her that she could find, but sometimes in the middle of the days, seeing if Lauren was still safe and comfortable. Tamsin wouldn't take anything from the human, but Lauren could see what she wanted, craved, and silently ordered from her; and she gave it willingly, though she barely participated herself. It was always Tamsin digging farther inside the doctor as the latter moaned and roiled with ecstasy, always Tamsin biting every spot the blonde loved on her neck and body, always Tamsin massaging Lauren's scalp as she felt her coming for the third time that night. It was always Tamsin.

For two days straight it was all Lauren knew, all she could think about: the screams of pain and death, then sudden release as she was with the woman she loved. Or the woman she thought she loved, Lauren reprimanded as she looked towards the drain. The Tamsin that was sauntering around may look like her, even talk like her on some occasions, but Lauren knew for a fact the thing she had been sharing a bed with was not the Tamsin she knew, nor was it anything the doctor had ever witnessed before in her life.

If only she could simply pull her out of it somehow before a real war started...

“Time is up, Dr. Lewis. We must leave.” The Irish drawl came immediately before the curtain was pulled back and the fae bodyguard was standing outside of the tub, looking up at the doctor with little interest.

Lauren almost let out a yelp at the surprise, and tried to cover her unmentionables. “Fine, alright, I mean... okay. Thank you.” The doctor's solemn brown eyes watched as cobalt left her wearily, not caring that the female was naked in front of her, and she left the bathroom slowly after checking the soap cabinet with interest. Raising an eyebrow, she left without another word.

The doctor sighed after she had been interrupted and got out of the shower slowly, grabbing her towel and turning off the water, she walked to her closet and pulled out a few pairs of clothing to pack into her bag; she would not be caught without a shower for the next two days no matter what Tamsin would do to her.

Coming down the stairs, her hair still wet from the shower, in a light and ruffled white shirt, a dark jacket strewn across her shoulders, and tight fitting jeans, Lauren took the flashdrive from the computer and put it in her pocket. Eying her apartment one last time, for fear it would be her final time there, Lauren allowed the fae to walk her back to the unmarked SUV, and drive her back to the compound faster than anticipated for fear of being late.

+++

Lauren was dropped off quickly at the compounds front door, the fae leaving her to park the SUV in the parking lot- where Tamsin's truck was most likely parked-, and without waiting for her, the doctor simply walked inside. The putrid stink of decomposing bodies filled her nostrils immediately and she flared them out, putting the back of her hand to her nose to try to cancel out some of the smell. She would have to retrieve some type of sandalwood or chemical to work through the stench, Lauren thought as she walked down the bloodied halls to get to her lab.

She wondered how Ætta was getting along, if Tamsin had come to her during the doctor's absence, and tried to put on a face of happiness as she entered her lab, hopeful to find and continue her workup on the valkyrie girl as she wasn't permitted to leave the lab without Lauren by her side, until she had run appropriate tests.

That was, however, until she realized she wasn't there.

Raising an eyebrow in question, Lauren simply put the flashdrive into her pocket, and backtracked out of the room. If the girl wasn't there, she thought, she must have been in the throne room with Tamsin- which Lauren hated going into for the dead bodies were more piled there- or in her chambers asleep. The doctor knew it could not have been the latter as she had just come from her own chambers to put down her bag of clothes, and did not see Ætta's door closed in occupation.

Slowly walking toward the throne room, Lauren began to walk faster, almost a jog, when she heard someone yell out in pain from the end of the hallway. Making her way past the dead bodies without thinking much of the stench, she burst through the double paned doors and looked at the surrounding situation.

The bright violet eyed valkyrie stood over a very well dressed Hale, the man on his side and his teeth bared in pain. Looking down, it took Lauren a moment to connect what had actually happened. Quickly running to the Ash's side, she tried to cover the profusely bleeding wound with her hands, her right hand leaving only for a moment to catch Hale's attention and point her bloodied index and middle fingers to her eyes; making sure he knew to watch her and her alone.

“Tamsin,” Lauren said breathlessly, “what have you done!”

“What are you doing here?” the valkyrie asked instead, her eyes leaving Hale's bloodied stomach and dropping her soiled sword; it clattered on the ground, filling the room with sharp tones. “You were given orders to see to Ætta.”

“She- she wasn't in the lab, I thought you took her.” Lauren looked down at how much blood seeped through her fingers no matter how tightly she pressed around the wound. “Tamsin, I need to get him to my lab. He's going to die!”

“What do you mean Ætta was not there?” Tamsin asked, an edge Lauren had never heard in the undertones of her voice. It was like she didn't even care about the siren and the doctor noticed it immediately. The valkyrie looked at the Ash, her eyes burning brighter from their darkness and she gritted out, “You know something. I can feel it.”

Hale coughed, “What does it matter if I do? I'm going to die with the secret anyways.”

“You're not going to die,” Lauren cooed, her hands pressing harder onto the wound, wishing she had her medical bag with her.

The doctor was suddenly pushed away, her shoulder skidding a little on the floor, as Tamsin moved in on the siren. “You will tell me where she is,” she breathed, her hand coming to rest on the Ash's throat.

“You've got to stop this, Tamsin. It isn't going to end well if you-” Hale was shushed as the valkyrie immediately threw him into the farthermost wall of the room. Lauren heard a sickening crunch as he fell, his body going limp, his blood pooling slightly around his body and the doctor tried to get to her feet to run to him. He wasn't dead yet, she could still save him!

Her arm was harshly caught in a tight squeeze. “We are going to find the girl,” Tamsin said, her eyes falling onto Lauren's. “Dyson was here,” she suddenly said, her head falling into the air as she gathered her surroundings, “I was too involved with the Ash, I did not see him. Ætta is most likely at the Dal.”

Bo, Kenzi, Dyson, Trick, they would all be caught unawares. “No, Tamsin, please,” Lauren begged suddenly as the valkyrie dragged her out of the room and through the long hallways. “They didn't know, we can just take Ætta and come back. There doesn't have to be-”

“If they do not give her back willingly, they will be taught.”

“Taught what, Tamsin?” Lauren asked before being ushered into the parking lot where the SUV she was made to ride in just that morning sat in. The doctor wondered briefly where the valkyrie's truck was if not there.

Tamsin stood a ways away, in the middle of the lot, as she looked at Lauren. “The reason why nobody messes with valkyries.”

+++

Lauren immediately went to her knees, trying not to retch. Her stomach felt as if it were churning in a washing machine and her head felt like it was on fire. She felt something pulling her upwards, or what she thought was upward, and she felt her back being pushed into scratchy resistance. Out of the corner of her eye, Lauren saw the slight swirling vortex disappear with a strange noise. She tried to speak, tried to see clearly, but all she could comprehend from the vicinity was a cork or a flask opening with a pop. She felt her stomach twisting itself into knots and she would have put her head down, trying to fall back onto her hands and knees in submission of the pain, but a gently callused hand held her jaw firm; opening it slightly.

“Wha-” Lauren tried to ask, but a hard mouth was pressed into hers, her head tilted back a ways, and she felt warm liquid washing down her throat from the opposing lips on hers. Swallowing it immediately, it burned down her throat in such a way that it felt surprisingly good, and she closed her eyes after the mouth left hers.

Opening them slowly, Lauren looked up at her valkyrie wiping a pointed finger down the sides of her lips, pressing off the liquid she had forced the doctor to drink, and stuck them in her mouth with the droplets.

“What was that?” Lauren asked slowly, still groggy, her head finally clearing as she looked up at Tamsin, her back resting nicely against the surface of the hard brick behind her.

“Mead from Valhalla,” the valkyrie said, her purple eyes looking her lover up and down for injury and the doctor saw her put the flask on her belt loop, just out of sight for prying eyes. Where had she gotten it? “Portals are the fastest way around in this world, and the ethereal, but humans rarely survive them. Giving you food or drink of the Kingdom usually helps.”

“I could have died?” Lauren's mind seemed to be working faster, her heart racing and her lips humming.

Tamsin looked down and simply said, “I would not have let that happen.”

“Then why put me in the situation to begin with, Tamsin?”

The valkyrie faltered, her eyes going dim. Instead of answering, the woman moved in on the doctor, her fingers coming up to brush away the strands of liquid that had escaped from the woman's mouth from the transfer. Doing as she did before, the valkyrie placed her index finger in her mouth, swirling her tongue around the finger, all the while looking into Lauren's brown eyes.

Lauren felt the valkyrie's left hand slide down her side and come to rest on the apex of her thigh, her fingers just reaching around to slightly grip her ass. Her other hand was outstretched and slowly Tamsin slid her index finger across the human's lips, tracing the curvature with care. Lauren could feel the heat, the want, as well as her own body hummed with expectations. Was it the mead that did this to them? There were many questions on the doctor's mind but all meant nothing in that moment.

Tamsin would have gone in to bite the doctor's neck, her right thigh already brushing into the middle of Lauren's legs; God did Lauren want it, for the life of her she wanted it so badly, but the valkyrie stopped as her eyes became bright again.

“Come, we must free Ætta from her entrapment.”

“She isn't trapped, Tamsin,” Lauren almost whined, placing her hands on the valkyrie's face as she was still pinned to the wall. “She was not taken prisoner. You have to stop this before someone gets hurt.” Someone else, Lauren thought sadly, thinking of Hale's crumpled body to the side of the throne room. She knew he would cauterize the wound with his siren whistle, maybe even get himself to the lab, but it was still a sharp pain in her heart.

“What would you have me do?” the valkyrie asked, coming in close again to the human, her lips barely brushing Lauren's. “They would keep you as a slave, they would do to the girl as they have done before: torture, mutilation. I cannot allow that to happen.” Their noses brushed past. “You are too important to me.”

“Tamsin,” Lauren whispered, trying to convey one final time to the woman, but before she could continue a sharp scream came from inside the establishment.

The valkyrie's eyes flared immediately and she detached herself from Lauren, the human's arms falling uselessly to her side, her chest rising and falling harshly in the cold of the afternoon, as she watched the Icelandic blonde run into the Dal Riata before she could stop her. Getting a hold of herself, Lauren ran into the bar before the door closed, and down the small hallway to get to the main opening. Turning the slight corner, into the archway of the door, Lauren gasped at how Tamsin seemed to be standing just inches in front of her, but the sheer force she was exuding could kill everyone in the room if she so chose.

“They hurt Ætta,” Tamsin whispered, addressing Lauren and no one else in the room. “I promised no one would hurt either of you again.”

“Tamsin, stop! Please, just stop,” Lauren pleaded, her eyes on the back of the valkyrie's head, fear in her heart from how many of the group she would kill to prove her misguided point. “It's a misunderstanding, that's all.”

The valkyrie cocked her head to the side, looking in turn to all of the startled fae, and human, in the bar. “This is what happens.”

Lauren screamed her lover's name, trying to shut down her mind from what was going to come next. Without looking into the eyes of anyone else in the room, their fear and misunderstanding would get the better of her, the doctor immediately shut her own brown orbs from the carnage that she knew would cascade over the room once again; screaming her lovers name for one last time, anything to get her to stop.

If only for the last time.


	2. Black Blood

 Wind ripped through the room almost as simultaneously as the screams sounded through the air. Lauren barely heard any of them, screams of the valkyrie's name, begging her to stop, pleading; the doctor hated those sounds and she didn't even know she could. It would be over in a moment, a second, and an instant. Tamsin would kill everyone in the room except, of course, Ætta and Lauren herself. They were the only ones that mattered to the valkyrie now. She no longer cared for her partner or her drinking buddy. No longer did she muster thoughts of the barkeep or the succubus. She was indifferent, cold and lost. God, was she lost.

But Lauren could save her. Couldn't she?

Opening her eyes was like lifting ten ton weights. The doctor barely had time to look around the room. She didn't see the destruction the valkyrie had already caused to the establishment with the gust of wind currents cascading around, before she felt her feet moving her to the able-bodied female. She felt her right hand moving to the pocket of her jacket, her left going steadily up onto Tamsin's shoulder.

“Tamsin, baby, please,” she whispered into her ear, standing on her tiptoes to speak to the tall woman.

Her lover’s words never reached Tamsin. The valkyrie's eyes were lost in their purple haze of pain and memory. There was nothing more the doctor could do to reach her, nothing to stop her from enacting her misguided revenge on everyone in the bar.

And the sad part was: Lauren knew it before she even tried.

The woman let out one last scream of her lover's name, fingers tightening on her shoulder, before she took out the sharp and glistening appliance from her jacket pocket. She swung it expertly, yet dangerously into the valkyrie's neck. She watched as Tamsin sputtered for a moment, those suddenly green eyes, _was this the way to end it_ , moving onto brown ones. Her hand, which had been pointing outward towards the individuals in the bar, went flying to the wound on her neck. She would have said something, Lauren knew, but she couldn't find her voice to speak.

Immediately her eyes drooped and she fell to the floor, with the doctor's help the valkyrie landed quite softly onto the wood, and the human went to the balls of her feet as she looked down upon her lover with the small trail of blood running down onto beautiful collarbone.

“L-Lauren?”

The doctor looked up, her eyes dim, at who had spoken to her. It wasn't like her to tune out as she did, to ignore the higher powered officials in the room, but for all her abilities she could not pinpoint who had spoken.

“Lauren,” the voice came again, “I'm here.” It was Bo. It was always Bo when Lauren was in danger; danger of losing herself.

Despite her precautions, she felt her signature smile plaster itself onto her lips. “Bo,” she said, her eyes portraying falsehood, “how are you today?”

The succubus backtracked at the question. It was honest, the words spoken from her former lover's mouth, but they were distant; as if she was trying to comprehend what had just happened. For someone as smart as Dr. Lauren Lewis, someone as war-torn, Bo knew it was really a feat. Was it because of the connection the doctor and valkyrie shared?

“Lauren,” the succubus said, “what did you do?

Shaking her head, coming back to herself, Lauren raised to her feet and said, “She'll be out for a few hours.” Looking down to her right hand, and to the spent syringe, she added, “Anesthesia.”

“Where did you get it?” Ætta inquired, a little starstruck, but a hint of something else in her voice. She knew any medicine Lauren needed had to go through Tamsin first. Yes, she had a few small things here or there for medical examinations, but nothing as potent as the concoctions for anesthesia in her lab.

“Back at my apartment. Jennifer let me near my bag upstairs; didn't see me grab it.” The comment was pointed at the valkyrie girl, the only person who would know whom the name pertained to, but her eyes were still fixed on Tamsin below her.

“What about Hale?” It was Kenzi who had asked.

Lauren's eyes slowly left Tamsin, they hovered on the floor for a moment, before looking into the Gypsy girl's crystal orbs. “I'm sorry, Kenzi. I don't know if he made it.”

The girl sputtered, “W...what are yo-” She didn't dare ask. Her voice cut off, her eyes showing emotion her voice could not, as she turned on Dyson. Looking up at him with fury, pain, and sadness all rolled into one.

He must have promised her Hale would be safe, Lauren decided as she looked on as the scene progressed, when they were inside the compound earlier. The doctor still didn't know how that could happen, how Tamsin could have really been blind to their intrusion, but the thought was a useless one as she watched.

“Is there a chance?” Dyson asked, looking back over to Lauren after tearing his eyes from the girl.

She had walked away from the group, her hand to her lips, her shoulder hunched over with her best friend comforting her solemnly. Lauren had barely noticed Bo moving away from her.

The human shrugged. “I don't want to give her false hope, Dyson.” It was all she could say. What, would she describe the last look of Hale she saw before being ushered out of the frosted doors? Would that really help Kenzi if she did? No, there was no use telling the girl her suspicions of the Siren using his whistle to cauterize his wounds before he pulled himself to the lab. False hope was a double edged sword and Lauren wasn't about to be caught on the wrong side of it.

“What happened to her?” Trick asked, his eyes had never left the valkyrie except to look on in sadness towards Kenzi for a moment.

“She's actualizing the true ramifications of being a valkyrie,” Ætta responded for the human, her arms crossed over her stomach. Every participant in the room looked towards her. Raising a hand at the unconscious Tamsin she continued, “Her mind splintered when she had to kill her mentor, Acacia. It fractured even more when she was forced to kill you, Lauren, to break the curse the Morrigan gave you; accident or not. When she saw me bleeding, harmed, two days ago, her mind completely broke. We are the most important things in her life, the greatest things anyways,” she added as she looked around to Kenzi and Dyson, “and seeing us in danger and pain broke her. She hasn't had what she has with us, or you, Lauren, ever in her life. Even with her old age, she was not ready for her abilities as a valkyrie, a warrior, to override her abilities as a lover.”

“You lost me on the last part,” Bo replied, the only one to talk after the valkyrie girl.

The gray eyed beauty turned around to the succubus, who had done a fine job of calming her best friend down and had moved up closer to Dyson and Ætta, and said, “We're valkyries. We're not supposed to fall in love. Our duty is to capture our target and take them up to Valhalla.”

“Whoa, hold on. That actually exists? Why didn't anyone tell me!” Kenzi's eyes were wide.

Continuing as if she had never been interrupted, Ætta said, “We're supposed to make people we like go away. Kill them, or simply make them disappear is our prerogative. Lady Tamsin's love is overriding her valkyrie nature, and in kind, her valkyrie nature is trying to destroy her love. She wasn't ready for that to happen, she didn't know it _would_ happen, and so she is fighting an internal war with herself. Her nature, as of now, is trying to help her protect the things she loves most, which is why we are not harmed. But her valkyrie nature is what compels her to keep us “safe”. To kill all those who would harm us.”

“Which is why the guards in the light fae compound are being killed,” Lauren finished.

The valkyrie girl nodded. “And after all those threats are done, her valkyrie will either kill Lady Tamsin... or us.”

“There isn't another alternative?” Dyson stepped in.

Grey eyes pierced blue and the girl slowly shook her head. “Her mind will keep dwindling into oblivion, even allowing herself to teach us,” she pointed towards Lauren and herself, “a lesson for the “greater good”. And soon she will be nothing more than a glorified underfae. She'll do anything to keep us safe, she'll start a war, even harm us.”

“Tamsin wouldn't hurt me,” Lauren said, even though she knew it sounded as if she overstated her importance to the lighter blonde on the ground.

“Give it a few hours, days or weeks, maybe even months. She won't know the difference between you and those light fae guards she murdered.”

“That doesn't explain why her eyes are that color instead of the weird skeletal thing she does,” Bo said.

Trick was the one to answer, his eyes glued to the valkyrie's, “I thought it was just a myth.”

“It appears it is not,” replied the girl.

“For everyone in the room not versed in secret fae shenanigans,” Kenzi said, raising her hand, her humor covering up her pain nicely.

“Purple eyes were the traits of the very first valkyrie-maiden's ever to walk the earth,” Trick explained. “They're called the First Ones, the unbridled start of all things valkyrja.”

“Why are they different from other valkyries?” his granddaughter asked.

“Because they're the ones that can do the most damage on the gate between reality and the ethereal. They are also the most cruel.” Ætta's eyes were dim as she looked onto the fae in the bar, only one other knowing the true fate of the world if he did not try to stop what was happening, and she looked toward Lauren. “Not even your love will be able to save us then.”

+++

“Tamsin isn't one of these First's,” Lauren said exasperated.

“How would she even get this strong? Wasn't she dying, like, two seconds ago?” Kenzi chimed in.

“None of that matters now,” Trick's booming voice echoed through the room. “Dyson, what were you trying to tell us before?”

Dyson seemed to be snapped out of his own thoughts with the inquiry and he looked towards Lauren and Tamsin. “When I was in the compound, Hale mentioned something about the room he was using as Acting Ash.”

“What was it?” It was Kenzi who asked, her throat restricting the words audibly so they wouldn't come out in a wail.

“I-I don't know, Kenzi. He was trying to tell me something, but Tamsin was right in front of him.” Moments passed. “What do you know, Trick?”

The powerful fae seemed to be nodding his head with thoughts and he looked back up towards Dyson. “I think I know what he meant. Follow-”

“Tamsin!” A scream ripped through the room and it took only seconds for the fae to snap to attention. The slower humans, however, were just that: slower.

Warm breath and gnashing teeth were near Lauren's ear in moments, her face turned towards the other scared fae in the room as her throat was gripped tightly. She would have done as the valkyrie girl had done, screamed Tamsin's name, but her throat was harshly squeezed after she opened her mouth to speak.

“Why would you do that to me?” the valkyrie asked, her words tearing at Lauren's eardrum. The human felt her earlobe compressed as the fae bit her. Blood was drawn. “Why, doc!” The nickname that once portrayed admiration, love, even habitual behavior- something the valkyrie had never had that could show warmth- felt wrong, disgusting, dirty.

Lauren was about to speak, maybe let out a rush of air that held the valkyrie's name on it, but before she could she felt something harsh cut in a perpendicular line across her shirt. Her head wouldn't tilt, not with that gripping hand around her throat, and she tried to imagine what was sitting on her stomach. Something cold and metallic, she decided, as that something forced its way to her bare flesh after slicing open the material.

“Stop it! Get away from her, Tamsin.” Bo screamed, her eyes immediately turning an electric blue. A wicked looking dagger in her palm. Lauren wondered if the dagger the valkyrie behind her was using was the same kind. No, she decided, probably the one hidden on her belt.

“Baby... please,” Lauren was able to choke out. Memories of the time she had been attacked in her own home flooded her thoughts, clouding her eyes. The way the young man had grabbed her by the throat and squeezed the life from her. How she had barely enough time to curl into the kick to her abdomen.

She briefly wondered if that was the same thing her lover would do to her now.

“Get over here now.” It was said through bared teeth, a hiss of malevolence in its shadows. Brightly colored purple eyes, they were no longer green as the valkyrie awoke inside of her, were trained on gray and, laughingly, Tamsin didn't even give the dangerous succubus the light of day.

“You're hurting her, Lady Tamsin.” Ætta was looking at the slight wound on the doctor's stomach. It bled into the top of the woman's dark jeans.

“We are leaving,” replied Tamsin. She wasn't listening to anything anyone had to say, not after the twisted coup attempt her lover had pulled.

The valkyrie girl looked back toward her savior, nodding curtly to the wolf, and with wide eyes and whimpering remarks, she slowly drew closer to her powerful mentor.

“Last chance,” Bo said slowly, her teeth bared in a grimace, her eyes pinned on Tamsin's. “Hands off.”

The Icelandic blonde, who had been watching Ætta return to her, looked back across the room at the fae and human. If Lauren could see her, she would think the warrior's eyes were sad and tired. But that is not what they conveyed to the individuals in the room. Lauren's hand reached up to try to claw the one that was cutting off her airflow, the other going to rest slightly around the one attuned to her stomach, and her eyes fell on the succubus.

“Bo,” she whispered, one last time, before being sucked into the portal that her valkyrie had created mere moments before. It was sudden, one moment she was staring into brilliant and confused blue eyes, the next she was being pulled through the twisting and swirling blue, greens, and purples. Opening her eyes was a futile attempt as when her brain finally caught up to her, it was telling her body she was retching onto the floor. Her hands flew to the cold stone of the ground, her knees hitting it painfully as she was let go, coughing and sputtering up what little she had eaten in the past two and a half days.

When she was done, when she finally came back to herself fully, she realized someone had been holding her hair as she vomited. Looking up slowly, but wearily, Lauren found it was the purple eyed valkyrie. Her lips were pressed into a delicate smile but her eyes were still piercing, still judging; still disbelieving.

“You will die without the drink of the Kingdom,” she said slowly, her eyes never leaving brown ones. “Weariness, listlessness, torpidity. Soon you will die.”

“Tamsin...”

“But I am gracious even after you have betrayed me. I know it must be confusing for you to accept my unbridled passion and protection. I understand.” That smile again. “Jennifer, if she so much as moves out of her room, teach her that the world is a cruel place and that I am protecting her,” Tamsin suddenly said to the Irish elf standing behind Ætta. When had she gotten there? How had the conversation turned so quickly?

The girl's eyes shone fear, but she allowed herself to be led from the dank room that Lauren knew well as the dungeon.

Not just any part of the dungeon, the doctor slowly realized with her dwindling faculties, the torture room.

+++

Soft fingers pressed to bruised flesh made the good doctor hiss in a breath with expectation. Her swollen blue sides were bleeding from cracked flesh and her tongue tasted the metallic awareness of blood. A sweetness washed with the blood on her lips as she tasted the last droplets of mead her lover had given her before this insane treatment.

Beautiful hands were shackled above her, the manacles biting into her flesh, making them bleed down her arms and only stop their flow when it reached her armpit. She was aware she was naked, except for her black bra, from head to foot. Speaking of feet, her phalanges barely touched the ground as she swayed there.

The doctor smiled to herself. Weary, delusional, hurting, but she still thought of the scientific word for her forefoot bones.

The smile was quickly wiped from her features as a hard fist met her flesh on the right side.

_Liver and kidney damage. Sudden shock to the nervous system._ It was a wonder she wasn't in shock yet.

A hacking cough made its way from her lips as she spat a stream of blood onto the ground. She shouldn't have smiled. She hadn't been in the room many times before, but even she should have remembered _that_.

“Tamsin,” a whisper, a symphony, a plea.

Light blonde hair came into vision as the valkyrie stepped in front of her. She looked beautiful, radiant, ashamed. The only thing that made any of this abated was that of her vibrant purple eyes.

“Tam..sin, why?”

A soft hand caressed the doctor's stinging face from multiple lacerations. “You don't understand how much I want to protect you.”

“You're hurting me, Tamsin... That isn't protecting me.” It was the wrong choice of words.

Lauren's face jolted left as a hard backhand caught her jaw. Another stream of blood washed onto the floor. Fingers scratched down her face until they came to a rest on her cheeks. Warm blood, at least the doctor thought it was blood, washed down the sides of her face from where the claws dug into her flesh.

“I _am_ protecting you!” Softness crept into the valkyrie's eyes. Her grip softened and she pressed her palm softly into the doctor's face as she caressed her. Lauren saw small speckles of her blood on the woman's fingertips and nails. “You're so gullible, Lauren. But I'm not.”

Purple eyes dimmed as the valkyrie moved in for a kiss. A kiss, the human thought wearily, just a kiss. Even a kiss could change the actions of the most maniacal person.

Passion swept through her after Tamsin pulled away, her eyes turning into vibrant purple again as she smiled down at the doctor. Lauren couldn't find the energy to curse herself. She really was gullible.

The doctor whimpered as the smiling valkyrie pulled out a knife from her belt. It looked wicked, glistening off of the florescent lights above them.

“Shh,” Tamsin whispered, coming in closer again. “Shh, it's alright.” Her hand was at the midpoint of Lauren's neck, her left somewhere the doctor could not see. But God did she feel it.

A choking sob broke through her as she felt the blade squelch into her shoulder. It moved upward slowly, to the human's neck, and cut the strap of her bra from her. Immediately after it was cut, Tamsin stopped and took the blade from inside of her skin, looking at the human with those damn eyes.

A kiss. Maybe to ease the pain? To show Lauren she still cared even from the cruelty she was showing her. Maybe to punish her for her betrayal and of the pleas and promises the human had spoken of at the beginning of this torture. She didn't know and she didn't much care; her head swam too much of pain and loss.

Tamsin moved her hand to the right side of Lauren's neck and before she knew it, the human was screaming bloody murder again as the knife cut into her left shoulder until finally Lauren felt her bra strap cut and the knife released. The human's head, dreadfully heavy, fell to her chest, or as much as it could as her hands burned from the grip the shackles had on her. She didn't understand. The human body could only withstand so much torture before the brain blanked out and delved the victim into unconsciousness. So why was she still awake?

Her voice was rasp, her throat parched with overuse of screams. “Tamsin... please.”

“Shh, shh, one more,” the valkyrie said softly, trailing her hand across Lauren's stomach wounds causing the human to hiss out in pain.

“Tamsin,” a choking sob left her lips as she felt a soft hand on her upper back to keep her steady.

The valkyrie licked her lips in anticipation, vibrant eyes that shone no more of the real Tamsin in that moment, flicked up towards the humans greasy hair and back towards the wound she was about to inflict. That cruel, inhuman, bloodthirsty valkyrie that Ætta had spoken of was in the room and Tamsin had checked out.

Blood squelched, screams of agony, spurts of the red liquid splashed onto the fae's face as she smiled brutally. The strap on the human's back was more tenacious than the smaller ones of the shoulders, and the valkyrie loved it.

Sawing, ripping, gashing, the sound of squelching flesh and blood echoed throughout the steel walled room and reverberated back to the human's ears. Or as much as the woman could hear over her own screams of agony.

She felt her stomach roiling with pain as she tightened and released, trying to forget the searing pain in her back; the pain of her lover being the one to do this to her. Her choking sobs and screams seemed to go on for hours, days, weeks. Her head swam with pain, her body with burdens that were not her own, that she did not wish to be hers.

A sudden tear ripped through her upper back as the bra finally came undone and the valkyrie accidentally, or was it on purpose, made a slight superficial cut as she pulled the knife from flesh.

Lauren let out a breath, a tiring, defeated gasp that followed as her head lolled back to her chest. She cared little from the ache the shackles had on her wrists; the pain was like a tiny sting compared to the agony in her shoulders and bleeding back. It was still hemorrhaging, too deep for her body to effectively clot around it. She would be dead in little under an hour if she didn't get to her lab.

Would that have been so bad?

The valkyrie came around in front of her again, her blood soiled bra in hand. A smile played on her lips and she lifted her arms above her head after dropping it to the floor. Lauren felt her back and stomach sting with sudden movement as her arms were unchained. They fell to her sides uselessly, the only thing keeping her upright was the sturdy hands around her midsection. They hurt there, burned as they pressed against broken blood vessels and smeared with streaming blood, but Lauren said nothing as she was moved to lay on the floor; her bra a few inches away. The doctor tried to reach for it after perceiving it groggily. Some type of act of disobedience, an act of modesty as she wanted to cover some part of her nudity.

Her hand was crushed under the heel of the valkyrie, a sudden shriek left her throat, something she did not think she could still let forth.

The valkyrie's bloodied face came into vision, kneeling down to be at eye level with her foot still crushing Lauren's hand, that false smile on her lips.

“Please... don't make me do that again.” Soft fingers caressed Lauren's cheek after moving strands of hair from the human's eyes. Despite herself, the doctor lolled into it, basking in the comfort it gave. She knew from the beginning of the “treatment” if she were to flinch away, she would be punished again.

“Would you let me die, Tamsin?”

The smile lowered into a stern line. Her eyes were dim again, unmoving as they stared into brown, her voice serious, “I will never let you go.”

“Really?” It was so sincere, so Tamsin, it broke Lauren's heart.

Slight fingers played with strands of the human's drenched and greasy hair. Too soon she stood. “Jennifer will be here to take you to your lab.” Tamsin the valkyrie looked down at the broken human with what could have been love, but her eyes portrayed only victory. Her foot lifted from Lauren's crushed hand and she walked to the iron wrought door of the cell. “I love you, Lauren.”

And then she was gone. Leaving Dr. Lauren Lewis on the floor, in her own blood, broken and lost in her own misery.

+++

“Get her back here now, Trick!” Bo screamed at her grandfather as she walked the small space to the closed portal.

“It doesn't work like that, Bo,” replied Trick, his eyes staring in disbelief at what had just unfolded. “To create a portal like that...”

“That was exactly what I saw back at the compound,” Dyson chimed in; his jaw would have been dropped to the floor if not for the small seconds he had to recover from his partner's sudden disappearance. “It's like she's...”

“Whacked,” Kenzi finished.

“I don't care what she is, she's got Lauren,” Bo yelled, coming back over to stand in front of the barkeep. “What do we do? What can we do to get Lauren out of there?”

Kenzi was the one to speak to save her friend from facing his granddaughter, “Cray-cray Tamtam said something about Hale's office.” The girl continued when the fae looked at her dubiously, “When she came in here all Braveheart; before Lauren came in? Anyway, maybe he's got something in there for this situation.”

“How would he know it was coming?” Bo asked, looking up towards Dyson as he _was_ partners to the man before.

The wolf shifter shrugged. “He hasn't told me anything. In the compound he said something about documents to unleash human involvement in the fae.”

“Like, there wouldn't be any more slaves?” Kenzi asked. Under her breath she said, “Right on, Hale-ster.”

Dyson nodded and turned to Trick. “Where's his safe?”

The barkeep shook his head. “It wouldn't do any good, Dyson. You know that.”

“Look,” Bo said, her hands waving in the air, “I get you're older and you think humans in the fae are a must but-”

“I mean,” Trick cut in, “Hale's safe has a biomolecular fingerprint scanner. No one can get in except for the Ash. There's nothing I can do.”

“You say that a lot.”

That seemed to sting and Trick looked up towards his granddaughter. “It's better than running into the compound on a suicide mission, Bo. We've got to think logically about this.”

“By the time we've thought this through, Lauren will be dead.”

“Bo,” Dyson said, coming over and putting a comforting hand on the woman, “if anything, we've seen Tamsin doesn't want to hurt Lauren. She'll be okay for a few more hours, a day at most. She's survived for the past two, she's stronger than you give her credit for. We'll get her out.”

The succubus didn't dare look at the wolf, but instead looked towards her best friend. “Kenzi and I will go back to the Crackshack and get supplies together. We'll meet back here after we're done.” She quickly turned and started for the door her former lover had walked in through earlier.

“Make sure she's safe,” Dyson and Trick said simultaneously to a passing Kenzi.

The girl nodded her head solemnly and followed her friend out of the door after turning and waving to the ancient fae. After they were both gone, Dyson turned to Trick and sighed deeply.

“Show me.”

+++

Lauren wouldn't wait for a damn elf who hated her guts to come fetch her from the dungeon. She was stronger than that.

Using her upper body strength was torture, especially from the gaping wound in her back and spotted bruised flesh on her stomach, but as soon as she heard the outer door close marking Tamsin's departure from the dungeon area, she swiftly acted. Getting to the opened door, the doctor's bloodied hands clutched to the frames to pull her useless lower body out into the hallway of the dungeon. Her right was definitely broken, she thought, as it more than just stung as she moved.

The next thirty minutes were tedious, painful and filled with rasping hitches of breath, but it was all for something as Lauren found herself to the double panned doors of her lab. The bloodied pulps of flesh that were once littering the hallways were no longer present, and Lauren briefly wondered if the light fae elf had spent her entire day cleaning it up.

Too bad the elf will have to clean up the trail of blood she had left for her, Lauren thought with sarcasm.

Sticking her fingers into the crack of the door, she slowly pulled it open until it was wide enough to fit her body through. Moving to the middle of the floor was torturous, but that is where she stopped, her strength finally leaving her. The goal was made, it was accomplished, and she was tired. God was she tired.

A smile crept onto her lips as her cheek met the cool linoleum, delving in the bliss her lacerations across her body felt against the cool ground. She should get to her medical station, she thought groggily to herself, she was still bleeding. Her whiskey orbs slowly looked down to her naked body and saw streams of liquid were already beginning to make their way from her back and sides to pool on the ground around her. If she lay there for any longer, she would die.

It was too painful to think. She didn't _want_ to die. No she didn't want to die. But she wanted the pain to be over; over and done, but it wasn't. It would never be if the valkyrie was still living in Tamsin. One wrong word would cause the pain to come again, no matter if Lauren survived this day, and that was the worst of all.

The doctor's eyes dimmed as she looked on as more crimson liquid pooled around her. Her eyelids were heavy, it hurt to open them, and slowly... slowly she closed them.

“Doc,” a panicked whisper came above her. She didn't want to look, didn't want to see those purple eyes again, and Lauren whimpered in fear of what new torture she would devise. “Doc, it's me. Dr. Lewis, open your eyes!”

Slowly, oh so slowly, Lauren did as she was commanded. “Hale,” it was barely audible to the Ash's ears even though he was a few inches from her.

“What did she do to you.” It wasn't a question and Lauren wanted to make some quip, some type of understatement to assure the siren. But her words failed her and she simply looked on into likewise brown eyes.

Her modesty took the better of her and she tried to move her arms to cover herself, though her womanly features were covered by the ground.

“Don't move,” Hale whispered, looking around to find medical instruments. “You know it was you who saved me, doc,” he began to spark up conversation, maybe to diffuse the situation. “Giving me a way to save Kenzi a year ago let me save myself today.” He was talking of his Siren Whistle, Lauren decided, dazed from blood loss.

Looking up slightly, she saw the cauterized, wound poking from his shredded buttoned down top. If Kenzi were here, Lauren knew the girl would be all over those abs. She tried to smile to herself, but even that hurt greatly.

Finally finding the care for her longevity, Lauren slowly spoke, “R...Rua...”

“What, doc?” Hale's attention immediately snapped to his friend.

“Ruamano... blood. Black... blood.”

She hoped Hale could decipher what she had said, for before she could repeat herself, she fell into blissful unconsciousness.


	3. Blood Die

Bo Dennis' thumb and forefinger thrummed against the steering wheel of her junk heap of a car. Her left index finger was tapping slightly against her lips as her brown eyes bore holes into the ground as she drove. The yellow Camaro couldn't go over sixty clicks without causing permanent brain damage from the intake of gas exhaust, but in that moment she was well over sixty and driving dangerously fast.

The succubus didn't prize herself on being the last one on the band wagon to bring the valkyrie into the fold of the group. She was even less likely to try to start up a conversation with the woman, but now she knew why she had shunned her. It wasn't because Lauren had found interest in her. It wasn't because even Dyson had. It was because she knew deep in her gut Tamsin would turn on them at a drop of the hat. She was dark and they all were light. She didn't much care about the lines that divided the fae world, even less about which someone chose, but she had found in all of her travels that both sides could be wicked. But the dark, the dark were almost always more cruel than the light on everymatter. If the circumstance at large didn't tell the gang that, Bo didn't know what would.

Sure, it was obvious the valkyrie had gone through some changes from that last time Bo had seen her, but it didn't dispute the factthat she had taken Lauren against her will. After hurting her no less! The dark didn't prize humans, not that the light did, and the darkness that made Tamsin choose the side was showing through. It couldn't have been some type of inherent way of punishing the human, Bo couldn't fathom that, the cruel way Tamsin had held onto Lauren was from a distaste. Even if it wasn't, Bo knew whatever darkness the valkyrie kept hidden from the outside world was slowly but surely rising to the surface. She would kill anyone, _anything_ , to keep her prize. That prize just happened to be Lauren Lewis.

First Taft, now Tamsin. It was the valkyrie that had saved the good doctor's life before, and now that Tamsin had gone crazy, who would save Lauren now? Bo seemed to be the only one who understood what needed to be done, although she didn't want to do it, and she knew it was taking everyone else crucial time to figure it out for themselves. If not even Lauren could reach Tamsin, the valkyrie would soon be too powerful, too insane on gorged power, to be stopped. Bo enjoyed Tamsin's company after getting to know her, sure, even if she could look upon the valkyrie and not cringe from the fact that she was dating the succubus' ex, it didn't change the fact of what she had wrought across the compound. Bo Dennis hated even the thought of taking Tamsin down, but she knew it had to be done.

If they didn't find some cure, some type of antidote soon, to save the rest of humanity if not only the doctor, Tamsin had to die.

The result was turned over in Bo's mind for some time before she decided the final outcome for the valkyrie. It was the only reason why anyone did anything, she decided. Because Tamsin was, for all intent and purposes, a stranger to her. And Lauren... Lauren was her friend. She would not give up Lauren's life for that of the valkyrie. There was no way in her mind she could. Bo would feel ashamed, she would even hate herself after she allowed the doctor's pain and anger to sink in afterward, but she would do it. To save Lauren's life, she would do it if it came to that.

A soft question reached her ears, “Uh, Bobo?”

Turning her head, she saw her best friend sitting slightly hunched in the passenger seat. Her dark raven hair swept in front of her eyes as a gust of wind coiled into the car from her downed window, and she didn't speak until she knew Bo had heard her.

“Not that I don't love my brain cells fried as much as the next guy, you really should slow down before the po-po collars us.”

Bo looked down at the speedometer and decided her friend was correct. She was going twice the recommended speed and she hadn't realizedthat she had been cutting and weaving in between slower cars for the duration of the car ride.

“Sorry, Kenz,” she mumbled while slowing to the speed indicated on the street signs.

Kenzi's crystal eyes stayed on the succubus' cheek absently, until she realized Bo wouldn't say anything. “We're going to get Lauren back, Bo. We're going to get her, and Hale, back. And everything will be fine again. Everything will be fine,” she whispered more to herself as she looked out the front window.

Brown orbs turned slightly to glimpse the Gypsy girl trying to calm herself down. It wasn't everyday Bo saw Kenzi break down- hell it was almost two entire weeks before she even opened up about being held against her will by the Kitsune and starved- and the succubus had to wonder when she and Hale had become official. To her surprise, and sadness, she did not notice her friend's absence and texts to the Ash, and Bo had to wonder if it was simply from her own despair over her mother or if she was really so oblivious to anyone else's lives. She knew the latter was a stupid thing to even think, but Bo found she had been increasingly hard on herself in the course of the two weeks after the compound.

“I promise, Kenzi,” Bo said, her eyes pinned on the girl, “I will get Hale back.”

Kenzi looked over to her best friend in the world, stared at her as she watched the road, and nodded slightly. She knew Bo wouldn't let her down; the succubus never let her down. Bo would keep to her word and get Hale out of the compound even if she died trying. Kenzi would never let that happen, of course she would protect her friend's fine toned ass, and she would go in with her. It was only fair, and it wasn't like Kenzi would sit on her own ass at the shack while Bo went into danger. She would never let her go through with such a daunting task by herself. Not in a million years.

Bo also knew Kenzi would risk her own life for that of Hale's or the succubus' and she nodded to herself as she turned her eyes back onto the road.

“We're not going back to the Dal after gearing up. Are we?” Kenzi asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“No, Kenz. We're going into battle. You with me?”

The Gypsy girl scoffed, "How is that even a question?"

Bo smiled softly. “I don't know, Kenz. I'm really glad you're by my side.”

There was a nod from the girl, and then silence. Bo wouldn't allow more time to be consumed simply because of her grandfather. Yes, he had a good point, if the succubus was going to do something she didn't want it to be a suicide run. Especially if she had Kenzi with her. But it was Lauren they were talking about. God knew what Tamsin had done to her as punishment for the doctor disobeying her orders. If Ætta could be trusted, time was certainly running slim for any type of rescue mission. Even if Trick had something up his sleeve, Dyson would relay it to them while they prepared.

Hopefully he did, Bo thought as she drove, for it would give her a good chance to charge up to full power before their harrowing rescue. It was a slow and grueling road for both of them, but surely they had gotten to the crossroads of their attraction again. They hadn't talked most of the time after the compound, but she was already told by the wolf that when she was ready, he would be waiting for her. Lauren had moved on, and finally Bo was reaching that road too.Even if she still felt strongly for the doctor, she felt strongly for Dyson and she was ready to be with him again.

It just really sucked it had to come at such a bad time.

That was their lives, Bo thought bitterly to herself as she pulled into the gravel road to their home.

Bad timing howled and nipped at her heels. It was the ghost of a hound with the scent of a succubus in its nostrils. And it would never stop for as long as she lived.

+++

Lauren awoke groggy and completely out of place in her surroundings. Her old stomach wound, which was completely healed, flared slightly- psychosomatic Lauren decided- and her back and shoulders felt as if she had come from a long exercise; while strands of her dark blonde hair cascaded around her eyes. Slowly she realized her cheek was pressed flat onto a soft pillow that lined the lab beds, and her erratic heartbeat quickly calmed. Her head swam with uncertainties, if Tamsin's cruelty had really come to a head, and she wondered where the purple eyed valkyrie was now. Did she know Hale was alive? Did she care anymore? Tamsin seemed to reel over different objectives faster thanwhenshe had left Lauren's bed after their numerousone-nightstands.

Letting out a slow breath, wondering how much blood the Siren had really given her, Lauren turned in her bed slightly to assess her surroundings. Keeping her lidspartiallyclosed, the doctor slowly looked around the room as she kept her breathing steady. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the pristine room, other than the former Ash- she doubted Tamsin gave him much room to govern- sitting at her medical table looking into a petri dish of black blood. He had a scalpel in his hand and he was twirling and tapping it at the side of the dish, probably debating on whether or not to test the liquid.

Just as he decided, Lauren rose to her elbows and blurted, “I wouldn't!” before losing her strength and falling back onto the bed. Swallowing painfully, she felt her legs shake with the force of movement, and she felt Hale's hand on her shoulder as he comforted her.

“Whoa, doc. You've been out for awhile.”

“How long is awhile?” Another painful scratch of her throat as she asked the question. She wondered why the blood had not fixed her fully.

“A few hours. Listen, doc, about Tamsin-”

“You shouldn't have tried to touch the Ruamano blood like that, Hale. It could have killed you,” Lauren interrupted, her hand rising upward to swat away his incessant talk.

“What the hell is it?”

“You don't know?” Her bewildered gaze seemed to affect the Ash more than she thought and she stuttered out, “I-I mean, I'm sorry. I just thought you would have known about it. You are the Ash.”

“I _was_ the Ash,” Hale corrected.

“You still hold power over the light, Hale.”

“What good is that going to do when crazy Tamsin out there is going to kill all of those would-be subjects?"A look at Lauren's ashen face made him apologize, “I'm sorry. What's with that blood anyways?”

Lauren slowly looked toward the petri dish of swaying black liquid. “It's Ruamano blood. Fairy blood,” the doctor corrected. She wondered how Hale, who had been amongst all other fae for so long, had no idea about the medicinal fairy. “Ruamano is the most powerful fairy in the known world. He helped drowned sailors of the Maori people. But his blood sometimes has a mind of it's own. If threatened, it would try to preserve itself.” She cleared her throat again, ignoring the pain. “Out of the kindness of his heart, and the fact that the Ash used to give him a perfect region of sea that sailors would crash most often, he donates some of his blood to the light fae for medical use.”

“And it healed you? Like unicorn blood.”

“Exactly like unicorn blood,” Lauren nodded. “But with black blood there's an increased chance of death. Where unicorn blood would heal wounds rapidly, but causing an impressive strain on the body, Ruamano blood heals in less time and in less painful means.”

“Then why don't all the light fae compounds use it?”

“Because it's very hard to get.” Lauren rested her head onto the pillow again without any strain. She really didn't understand why the Ash didn't know all of this, and she was tired of explaining it. Lauren was thankful for Hale to have saved her, but she had more pressing matters to think about than trying to talk to the siren. “The fairy only comes by once a year and he only gives us, if we're lucky, a few milliliters. That,” she said indicating the petri dish, “is the last of it for this year's quota.”

Hale shook his head and placed his hands near his mouth. Staring at Lauren's side absently, he sighed after placing a hand on the woman. “If Tamsin sees me...”

“It's alright. I won't let her touch you again.”

“With all due respect, Lauren, I don't think you can stop her. Have you seen what she did to the guards? What she did to me?There's only one end to that kind of madness and it ain't a lover.”

“I've seen everything, Hale.” Lauren was suddenly bitter as she turned on her savior. “I may not be strong enough for a lot of things, but I know Tamsin and I know I can bring her back. Whatever she's going through, whatever she's done, she can be redeemed.”

“She's murdered innocent people, Lauren! She _tortured_ you! I don't think-”

“How many of us have murdered innocents, Hale?” Lauren's eyes were cold as she bore into the Siren; her voice hard. The sting in her back, shoulders, and stomach was enough to remind her of her recent struggle with the valkyrie. She didn't need her owner to dredge it up. “And how many of us have had our own redemption? I will not allow you to condemn her so quickly only because she is dark and we are light. I love her. And I _will_ save her.”

“Your sanctimony is astounding, doc,” Hale said, getting up from his seat, and going over to put a cap on the petri dish. He avoided likewise brown orbs and instead said, “I want to save Tamsin as much as anyone else. But there is a line between them and us, and even if I have been trying to blur that, it never meant innocent people dying. How far is Tamsin going to go before she burns down everything in sight for her own agenda?” He shook his head as he bit his bottom lip. “I know you didn't choose the light on your own free will after you learned what we were about. But Tamsin chose dark. She chose the side that hates humans and only sees them as little more than cattle. My exchange program was supposed to fix that, but... Look, I'll give you one day to get through to her. But if you can't-”

“What, Hale? What will you do?” Lauren's voice was soft, so soft it took the siren all he had to hear it.

“I'm going to do what we always do when we're at war against an adversary, Lauren. I'm going to protect the good of all fae.”

“You mean kill her.” Lauren's feigned smile plastered onto her lips as she nodded her head slowly.

It took a moment for Hale to speak but finally he said, “If it comes to that.”

Hale met Lauren's eyes again and he turned away for the last time. Going towards the double- paned doors, he poked his head out slightly to see if the coast was clear of Jennifer or Tamsin. He must have seen that it was, as he looked back and gave a nod to the doctor before trying to slip out.

“If you kill her, Hale,” Lauren said, just as the siren shifted out of the door, but she knew he heard her. “If anyone hurts her, I will never forgive any of you.”

The doctor was left to her own devices as she slowly looked toward the whitened ceiling of her lab. She would be strong enough in an hour or so to move and exert force, and she placed a delicate hand to her forehead in thought. Would she really go against Hale and stop him from killing Tamsin? Would she go against Dyson... Go against Bo? Lauren didn't know and she didn't want to find out. If she didn't get the valkyrie, her real valkyrie, back and soon, there would be no stopping the witch hunt for her head.

Lauren's eyes slowly closed as she thought her plan over and over in her mind. Ready to enact it immediately upon awakening. Hopefully, just hopefully, this would be one of the plans that actually worked.

+++

“Dagger?”

“Check.”

“Throwing dagger?”

“Check.”

“Crossbow?”

“Che-whoa, I've never seen this one before,” Kenzi said, her eye aligning up with the crossbows crosshair. Pulling the trigger playfully she said, “You've been holdin' out on me, Bobo.”

“I got it last week,” Bo said in feigned defensiveness. Grabbing it with a gentle hand, she placed it down onto the table in which all of her other assortment of death dealing devices sat.

The Gypsy and the Succubus had been cataloging and assorting all of the weapons they had to date since entering their home and sitting on their couch. They went immediately to their storage spaces upstairs and grabbed as many as they could.

Bo could only carry so much; she was more into daggers and knives anyway, while Kenzi would carry the crossbows and a small knife. Bo wanted to give her a bow and arrow, it was more powerful, and a lot quicker, in the face of an onslaught of guards- if Tamsin had chosen to place more guards anyway- but it wasn't Kenzi's style and she respected that. She almost wished she had the sword Val, Hale's sister, had brought along on their battle against the Garuda, and she wondered about calling her up.

“No,” Kenzi had said, “if Hale's... We need to find out before we tell her anything. The situation is totes hidden in the light fae compound. Letting out the news may turn deadly for all of us.”

It was the most grown-up thing Kenzi had ever said in the face of adversary. Bo hadn't really thought of that. Letting out the news. Her mind hadn't been on keeping it hidden, keeping the murders and Tamsin secret, it was only focused on getting Lauren out of there and to safety. That's all that mattered, and ever since Kenzi had spoken to her at the beginning of their weapons check, Bo wondered what else she had missed from her pin-pointed interest.

While cleaning the soiled katana Kenzi usually wore, Bo was surprised it had so much caked on blood, it looked like, as the girl never used it but to get a piece of pizza she was too lazy to get up for, it finally hit the succubus.

“Kenz?” Bo asked, her work on the sword's habaki ceasing for a few moments.

“What's up, Sugarcrotch?”

“What if I combine our blood again?”

The girl also stopped her work on straightening the crossbow's string. “Bo... you remember what happened last time. If you stay under for too long-”

“I know, I know. But what if this is the only way to save Lauren?”

“We can save her, Bo. You just have to believe we will.” Kenzi put a comforting hand on her best friend. “Sweetmeats, I'm all for having your blood inside of me- okay, that sounded a lot less girl on girl in my head.” It at least brought a smile to the succubus' lips and she continued, “But you're hella stronger than you were when we faced off against the Garuda. I'm not going to get hurt, and Lauren's going to be saved just like last time.”

Bo sighed. “Kenz, what would I do without you?”

“Probably fall over and wouldn't be able to get up.” The girl smiled and knocked her shoulder against the succubus'.

The women went back to cleaning and assorting their weapons when they heard a light, fluttered knock on the door. Immediately standing, Bo brought the sword she was cleaning to her side and looked toward the door with anticipation.

“Bo, it's just Dyson,” Kenzi remarked, though she had also gotten up after putting an arrow on the draw string of her crossbow.

“What are you doing here?” Bo asked, a little too harshly.

The wolf walked into the shack with the guise that he knew what he was doing. From what Trick had shown him of the locked box in Hale's ascension room, he knew he had to get to Bo before she did anything rash.

“I know you, Bo. And I know when you're going to try to pull off a rescue mission without us.”

Bo's brown orbs dropped, along with her sword arm, and she sat the blade back onto the table. “I have to get Lauren out, Dyson. And Hale,” Bo added with a slight jerk of her head towards Kenzi.

The girl had gone back to cleaning and assorting the weapons that were still uncatalogued, but she knew when they were talking about her. She said nothing and continued cleaning.

“Bo, you can't go in by yourself!”

“I'm not!” Bo fumed, “Kenzi's going with me.”

Dyson almost growled, “So you're putting her life on the line too.”

“She wants to come, Dyson. She needs to. What do you want me to tell her, no? Come on!”

“Tamsin is too powerful. She's-”

A sudden clang of metal hit the table and suddenly Kenzi's voice filled the room, "Stop it! Both of you! How is this helping Hale or Lauren? You're here, arguing like children,and they're still there doing who knows what- having god knows what _done_ to them. Now sit down, shut up, or so help me I will ground you both for a month!

“Sorry, Kenz,” Bo mumbled, Dyson following suit.

“This wasn't what I came here for,” the wolf said after a moment, his hand going to rub his forehead.

“Then what was it, Dyson?”

“I was going to offer myself to help you. I couldn't have you going in alone...”

Bo's eyes closed for a second and when she opened them she sighed, “Damn it, Dyson.”

The wolf chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”

The succubus sat on the edge of the couch arm. “You know the compound better than any of us. What does Trick have to say about your sudden change?”

“I haven't told him.” Dyson shrugged from the bewildered stare both females gave him. “I don't always have to do what he wants me to, you know.”

“Oh sure, sure,” Kenzi mumbled, taking a cloth and rubbing harder than necessary on a dagger's steel.

“We need a plan of action,” Bo said, finally beginning to think of something other than Lauren. “Do we know if she's got any guards?”

Dyson shook his head. “No, from what I could tell from Ætta and Lauren's conversation, Tamsin's posted one fae to protect and discipline them. Other than that, it's just four people in the compound.”

Bo's head nodded, her mind trying to expel the thought of this fae woman disciplining Lauren, and she looked over to Kenzi. “Five,” she reprimanded Dyson, “Hale's in there too.”

He nodded and looked over to Kenzi. She was trying her hardest to stay focused on her work and she barely gave them any attention.

Coming in closer, almost in Bo's personal space between her legs, Dyson said, “Feed from me, Bo.”

“What?” It was an awestruck question and she looked up into beautiful blue eyes.

“You need all your strength inside the compound if you're to fight Tamsin. Combining our blood could turn against us.”

So Dyson also had the same idea, Bo thought. She wanted this to happen for the longest time, but now... “Dyson... I-”

“Ear plugs in and the TV set on high,” Kenzi interrupted, hitting what ass she could get when slapping her best friend. “Go ahead, I'll be here. Not that I'll be listening or anything. Just remember that time is precious, so if you two could just hurry this up... Stamina is not everything, Wolfman.”

The wolf smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I can't promise anything, Kenzi.”

Bo made a face toward the girl and tried not to smile with a bewildered stare. Looking back up to Dyson, she smiled seductively and took his hand in hers; leading him up the stairs to her bedroom. She never much minded leaving Kenzi downstairs before while she had her time with her lovers, but the girl was in a dire state worrying over Hale. If not for her sudden permission to take Dyson upstairs, Bo would have kept coming up with reasons to why they couldn't.

But damn, she thought, did she want this.

It was immediate, when they got to Bo's room. Dyson turned her around swiftly and suddenly his mouth was on hers. The succubus saw how hot the man's aura burned and she fell into the passion of it before she could blink. Her room didn't have pillars as Dyson's did, and for that she was extremely sorry. The detective found a way, however, and Bo gasped as her back banged into her closedweaponscase.

Bo clawed down to his belt, pushing his lower half closer to her, while she allowed Dyson's hands to grasp the sides of her face, deepening the kiss. Finally getting the damned thing off, she threw into onto the ground as Dyson suddenly left her lips and traveled down to her waist. Thank God she was wearing an easily unbuttoned pair of pants, because the wolf would have torn them off with lust.

The man left sloppy kisses on Bo's thighs as she stepped out of the discarded pants. Her hands were in his curly hair, her breath hitching as she felt Dyson slowly but surely pulling down her black,lacy underwear; all the while his mouth never leaving her thighs.

Suddenly Bo pulled on the man's hair and he responded by coming back to her mouth. Wrapping her legs around him, Dyson quickly lifted Bo onto the weapons case, and pulled off his shirt. Flinging it to the ground, he found his lover again, who had taken off her own shirt while he was taking off his, and he pushed her breasts together and licked the top of them.

Bo's breath hitched again as she felt Dyson entering her; somehow he had gotten his pants off, and she moaned when he grabbed the small of her back and pushed further into her. Her ass left the weapons case, and she hooked her legs behind Dyson as he thrust into her again when she tried to readjust.

Allowing his hands to leave her back, the wolf noticed how tightly Bo held onto him. He wondered if he would ever be free again, and decided that being captivated forever by the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen – wouldn’t be so bad. He quickly undid her bra and let it also fall into the heap of clothes that were discarded on the ground. Pinching her nipple, Dyson was rewarded with a hard bite to his neck in the exact spot Bo knew he loved, and chuckled as he backtracked to the bed.

Sitting on the edge of the bed slowly, Dyson smirked up towards a blue eyed Bo as she sat atop him expertly. Bringing their lips together, the wolf felt a slight tug from his inner core and when he opened his eyes, he saw a blue stream exiting his mouth and entering his lover. A surge of passion, love, and lust washed through him and he forcefully bucked upward. He smiled wickedly when he heard Bo moan above him, her head thrown back as her fingers curled in his hair, and he engulfed the woman's nipple in his mouth as he thrust.

Harder and harder.

Faster and faster.

He had missed this for so long, and he was not going to let the succubus off so easily. Dyson growled softly when fingers moved from his hair and to his back, leaving barely bleeding red marks as they traveled up and down.

Dyson's mouth left his lover's nipple as he came for the first time. His head on sweating flesh of the chest bone, his nostrils picking up every scent that washed over Bo's form as she also came hard against him.

Her hands were on the sides of his face, and Bo brought her lips to his for a passionate kiss and a stream of energy. She was panting softly after she disengaged and Dyson saw her eyes were still that electric blue.

Bo wanted more.

The detective smiled softly, he finally had the succubus again, and he quickly squirmed back to the top of the bed. Bo groaned above him as he shimmied into the middle of the bed, and her eyes never left his when he looked up towards her as his hands made their way down to her thighs.

“It's not over yet,” he breathed as he got just the right leverage he wanted for the next round.

Bo's dark hair fell in front of her eyes in strands as she looked down to the man she loved, and she smiled wickedly as she was turned over onto her back. It was all she could do to keep her wits about her as Dyson found the right force and speed to pound harder into her. His hand was through her hair, the other grabbing the side of her ass. She heard him growling softly, deep and guttural in the back of his throat, and her libido kicked up a few notches from the pure lust he was exuding.

For once she was glad to be a succubus as her pleasure increased from the simple knowledge of how hot Dyson burned for her. She didn't have to feed from him to know how much he wanted her, and he didn't have to ask to know how much she wanted him. They were together and it would last until they were both dead. And Bo knew that day was very far off.

+++

The Morrigan's red painted nails flashed across her keyboard as she typed furiously. Her retinas glistened from the computer screen she was watching intently, and she barely noticed when her assistant walked into the room unannounced.

“Um...”

“What do you want?” The Morrigan was too busy to care if her assistant broke the very first rule she had been taught.

“There have been reports from the light fae compound in which the Ash resides in,” Kiki whispered, her head bowing a ways for the intrusion.

“Speak. Up. I don't have all day.”

“Um, sorry. Something has gone wrong with the valkyrie there. We believe it's Tamsin.”

“Tamsin?” The Morrigan's attention was peaked.

“Yes, ma'am. She's murdered all of the Light's guards.”

Red stopped flashing across the keyboards. “Are there any other people in the compound now?”

“Reports say there are three females and one male; presumably the Ash.”

“Then it's begun,” Evony said as she tapped an overly manicured finger to her lips. “Keep me up to date on all reports that come in.”

Her assistant nodded her head and bowed, looked into the Morrigan's eyes one last time, before turning and walking out of the room. Evony barely registered the girl's clipboard had been shaking violently in her hands and she wondered if she really scared her subordinates so much. She smiled to herself and swiveled her chair to look outside of her window.

“What an amazing view,” she whispered to no one in particular. “Too bad it's all going to go up in brimstone.”

Turning back around, she continued typing excessively on her keyboard. The whole while a feigned smile of happiness on her face. In truth, the Morrigan was feeling a lot of things, and happy was far from the list.

If she had to sum up her feelings with one word, it would be easy to find it.

Desperation.

+++

An almost honey voice resounded throughout the room, "Wake up, Dr. Lewis.

If it wasn't for the uncaring undertone of her voice, Lauren would have not minded being awoken by such a lovely accented murmur.

“I apologize for sleeping,” Lauren immediately said after opening her eyes groggily. If she had learned anything in servitude, it was that she was always sorry for everything. She soon found it was the right thing to say as she was given a disgusted look with cobalt eyes, and then sudden disinterest.

“The Sovereign wants you in her chambers.”

“I'm too weak to move,” the human lied.

The elf's eyes moved down her body and back to her eyes. “You are strong enough to walk and exert some physical force. You will go to her.”

“Tamsin will understand my hesitance. Thank you.”

A hand suddenly clamped down on her shoulder. “You will go to the Sovereign. Now.”

Anger built up in Lauren's heart, years of servitude and adapting her personality quickly vanishing, and she blurted, “I said no, Jennifer.”

Lauren's face shot to the left and a loud crack cascaded through the room. Only seconds later did the human feel the sting as blood rushed to the top of flesh. Jennifer was allowed to hit her then, Lauren thougth slowly. It wasn't just her overexcited imagination about how far Tamsin would allow the help to go. If she was allowed to harm her, what else would she do?

“Move. Now.”

“I-I need my clothes.”

“I have already provided them.” Jennifer waved a hand on the next bed beside the one Lauren had been sleeping on.

It was better than going naked, she decided, and looked back towards the elf. “May I have privacy?”

Jennifer made a disgusted face and turned her back. Walking away from the bed and to the door, she silently slipped through it. Hopefully, Lauren thought, to bother Ætta instead of her.

Quickly getting dressed after going to the back of the room to shower, or as fast as she dared move before Jennifer would come back and hurt her, Lauren walked out of her lab and down the pristine hallways. The blood trail she had undoubtedly left after her punishment was wiped away. Bleach, Lauren thought, as she smelled it all over the brightly lit hallways. As she walked towards Tamsin's bedchambers, which were in retrospect Lauren's, she wondered what other house hold chores Jennifer were used to.

She wasn't fine being under Tamsin's servitude, but she could deal with it as long as she needed. But Jennifer? She didn't know if she had it in her to take orders from all other fae. She was a human slave, a ward of the Ash and the light, for over six years. By god was Lauren used to it. Being spat on simply because of her genetics was part of her everyday life. It was obvious it wasn't going to change any time soon.

Or so she thought.

Reaching the oak wood of the Ash's room made Lauren stop for a moment. Putting her hand on the frame of the door, she silently counted to ten before opening it slowly.

“Tamsin,” she called softly upon entering. Lauren could barely see a thing in the partially lit room, and she wondered if her lover was even there.

“You smell good, Lauren.”

The doctor's eyes squinted as her ears pinpointed the sound. Tamsin was on the bed.

“I took a shower after you tortured me.” Too quickly Lauren knew it was the wrong choice of words. But Tamsin barely registered them.

“You always smell wonderful. Vanilla and cherries.”

Lauren slowly walked to the bed, her bare feet growing cold from the stone flooring of the room. She didn't hear anything but a light tune that Tamsin was singing to herself under her breath. The doctor wondered if the valkyrie was all there in that moment.

“Tamsin?”

“I'm sorry for what I did to you,” the valkyrie suddenly said. She made Lauren jump as she grasped her arm suddenly. Superior fae sight allowed her to see through the dim room as if it was permeated with light.

“I know you are.” It was all Lauren could think of saying. She knew it didn't matter what Tamsin said to her. The woman was still under the influence of her murderous valkyrie and she wasn't going to magically turn out of it. Only if Lauren helped her. She sat down next to her lover.

Tamsin's forehead lightly touched the doctor's upper arm and she closed her eyes slowly. “I'm tired of this, Lauren. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore.”

“That's good, baby. That's good.”

“But I can't stop,” Tamsin whispered, her finger going to Lauren's lips to silence her. Moving her hand away to caress the woman's cheek instead, she said, “I have to protect you.”

Lauren slowly touched Tamsin's hand. “I'm safe, sweety. Because of you. Nothing will happen to me if you just come back. I'm right here.”

Something wet hit Lauren's arm. “I'm so tired.” Tamsin moved her head away and looked into beautiful brown orbs. “I can't lose you too.”

The doctor tried not to shiver from the intense way the valkyrie's watery purple eyes were looking at her. It wasn't hard as those orbs were so soft, so downtrodden, and so sad. “You won't lose me, Tamsin. If you just come back, everything will be fine. We'll be fine.”

The torture, the pain, everything would be erased. Lauren could understand, in time she could allow Tamsin to touch her without a thought of that pain. She would forgive her lover, but she wouldn't forget for fear of it happening all over again. Lauren would be there for her. But she just had to _come back._

Tamsin moved in on the doctor after wiping her face. Hot lips met hers and Lauren felt her face grabbed by both sides. The valkyrie's body was on top of hers before she knew it. Nails dug into her stomach as the Icelandic blonde broke the button and unzipped them. Blood rushed to Lauren's lips as the valkyrie bit and then sucked the spot gently before going to her neck.

“Tamsin,” Lauren gasped. Her pants were somewhere on the floor and her shirt was about to go next. She felt her core ache with heat, and she wondered if Tamsin was close to who she was before. If the doctor gave in, just gave her what she wanted, the valkyrie would finally return to her.

Lauren tried to move her fingers against Tamsin's shirt before she lost herself in the ecstasy. It was always the valkyrie giving her pleasure, she never was allowed to do the opposite. Thankfully Tamsin was too caught up in her despair and passion to care, and Lauren was able to get the woman's shirt off and started working on her pants.

Her fingers fumbled with the buttons but she finally got them undone and unzipped Tamsin's slacks. She would have gotten them off of her but she felt something sliding up and down just outside of her opening.

Tamsin's fingers were slick with the result of Lauren's lust, and she wanted the doctor to beg to ease her. The valkyrie was not fully herself, but damn did she remember how the doctor loved to be fucked. Lauren's thighs quickly tightened around the sides of Tamsin's body in anticipation, and the valkyrie grinned.

“You still want me?”

Lauren whimpered as the valkyrie nipped her neck, “Yes.”

“I'll do anything for you, Lauren.” Tamsin could feel her crotch being stroked by her lover's hand through her pants.

“Come back to me,” she whispered, making sure she slightly massaged the woman's cunt through her garments.

Tamsin pounced. With anger or lust, Lauren didn't know. One moment her fingers were dancing around her lover's clit, the next she was grabbing Lauren's hair with one hand while the other moved hard inside.

Lauren's breath hitched loudly before she moaned. Her body jolted into the grind over and over again and her arms wrapped around Tamsin's body. Lauren's legs moved down the woman's slim back and tried to get her jeans off by unoriginal means. Squirming from the fast pace Tamsin's fingers set, Lauren finally got the woman's pants off and they fell awkwardly around the valkyrie's lower thighs. Grabbing hold of what she could, Lauren quickly tugged the woman's black boxer shorts off and tried to enter her girlfriend.

Suddenly her arm was taken from around Tamsin's cunt and held above her head forcefully.

“Tamsin?” Lauren asked, surprised the valkyrie would do such a thing.

“I. Fuck. You,” Tamsin responded, her fingers moving faster and deeper into the woman as she emphasized each syllable. Her purple eyes burned with intensity, but they were nowhere near as light as they usually were. Was it truly working?

With each word, Lauren moaned louder, almost screaming, as Tamsin hit just the right areas inside of her. “Don't stop,” the human whined. “More!”

“I love it when you beg for me,” Tamsin whispered, her breath heating Lauren's ear as she bit it softly. She moved down to the human's neck and licked after biting down harshly.

Lauren loved it as she moaned louder, a grunt of passion leaving her lips. Those wonderful fingers were bringing her where she needed to go and she wanted to call out to the high heavens for this pleasure to continue.

The human let out a rush of air as Tamsin finally found just the right leverage. Pushing and curling her fingers made Lauren do the same, just at a different position, and the human felt her back arch from the climax she had been brought to. Her hair was matted against her forehead from sweat and she licked her lips as she slowly placed her head on Tamsin's shoulder.

Her legs were crossed behind the valkyrie's back, and she had no intention of moving them until her shudders stopped. When she did, she felt the valkyrie's clean fingers tracing the scar on Lauren's toned stomach. The scar she had gotten from the undercover assignment they were on so long ago. With other was in the valkyrie's mouth, the woman sucking on them seductively. It made Lauren shiver.

“Tamsin?” she asked weakly.

“What is it Lauren?” Tamsin's voice raised only slightly higher than a whisper.

“I want a larger lab.”

The valkyrie raised off the bed a ways, only slightly since Lauren's legs were still holding fast to her lower body, and her dimmed purple eyes searched the doctor's face.

“What did you have in mind? I will get you anything you want.”

“The dark's lab is ten times bigger than mine. They have certain equipment I don't and a larger staff.”

Tamsin seemed to think it over before saying, “I will takecare of it tomorrow.”

“No!” Lauren reprimanded herself when Tamsin's eyes grew slightly brighter, “I mean, I can go and ask the Morrigan for the lab. I'm sure she would want to make me happy.” She caressed the side of Tamsin's face as she spoke.

“I will come with you, if this is what you want, doc.”

“I think that would scare the Morrigan into denying us,” Lauren said slowly. “Jennifer will be less of a bother. You're busy here.”

Tamsin's mouth pressed against Lauren's and she said, “I want you to be happy. I know you don't understand what I'm trying to do for you, but the dark lab was on my agenda anyways. Jennifer will protect you while you are there.”

“Really?”

The valkyrie smiled. “Yes, doc, really. If you are in danger, I will know.”

“Thank you, Tamsin.”

The lovers embraced again as Lauren's mind reeled with possibilities. If she could get to the Morrigan, if she could ask how the woman had known this evil had been coming, maybe then she could figure out a way to help her lover further.

Lauren's hand traveled down to the small space between the women's body. Her lips parting in a silent “o” as she felt her lover's wetness.

“What are you doing, Lauren?”

“Just let me,” the woman whispered, “please.

Tamsin's eyes dimmed as she allowed the doctor to top her as she turned over in bed. The lovers kissed again before Lauren returned the favor. All the while thinking in the back of her mind what was going to come next instead of how her love should have already brought Tamsin back from the darkness.

There were many questions on her mind and Lauren knew they would all be answered.

One way or the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my lovely beta reader! You made it even better, darlin.  
> Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to comment on anything you're not caring for or something you enjoy.


	4. Shadow Soul

Violet eyes opened slowly and peered out into the darkness of the room. Strands of her light blonde hair fell in front of her face, blocking her vision only slightly, and she simply looked to her right to dislodge them. A warm body was sleeping next to her, the person's right hand slung over the valkyrie's midsection, the left laying idly between them. Hair cascaded beautifully onto the woman's closed lids, and the valkyrie slowly disentangled them as she brushed them to rest on her cheeks.

She traced a slender finger across the woman's strong jaw line and a callused digit rested slightly about her soft lips. Her hair was in disarray as most of the blonde locks were streamed on the pillow, as if she had taken her hair and flayed it out before lying down. Purple orbs descended upon beautiful collarbones. Lower still her eyes traveled and she cocked her head to the side as she found the woman's nipples still erect.

As a fae, especially one who did not experience the chill often, the valkyrie did not feel coldness as that of humans and she wondered how low the temperature was in the room. Slowly pulling the sheet and thin blanket up to rest just below the woman's chin, the valkyrie smiled gently as the doctor moaned softly and adjusted herself in slumber.

The woman's hand released the valkyrie's midsection, and it joined her left just between the pillows of both occupants. With the new position, the human's hair fell back into her eyes and cheeks and the valkyrie’s lips were lifted into another smile as she watched.

Bare feet brushed the brisk stone of the ground, and that seemed to make the valkyrie feel _something_. Chilled, she slowly placed her feet to the limestone fully, and pressed her hands into her hair. Looking to her right, she saw the discarded clothes of her ward and the valkyrie gradually pushed herself up to her feet.

The cold air hit her fully as her body was exposed to the room. She would have shivered if she still felt such an emotion, or cared about it, and she walked slowly to the discarded garments. The valkyrie had made Jennifer bring the doctor the same clothes she had taken off the woman at the beginning of the lesson. She had slowly folded and placed them onto the stone steps of the dungeon, and only after she had creased them with her palms did she begin with her lover.

Two fingers reached down into the front pocket, the only one the valkyrie saw an outline from, and she pulled out a small device. Just from the feel, she thought it was what she had been looking for, and what she had told the doctor to find for her, but she could not tell for certain as it was too dim in the room even for her expert vision.

Standing erect, the valkyrie quickly walked by the bed and to the side of the room. Opening the bathroom door quietly, she closed it just as silently and flicked on the light. Holding the device up into the luminescence, her lips curled into a humorless and wicked smile as she witnessed what she held: the machine that would allow her to concoct the answer to turn a human into a fae. She would need someone to help decipher the doctor-speak, but she would be able to give Lauren the ultimate protection if she could duplicate the experiment.

Setting it down onto the sink counter, she turned the warm faucet and watched as the cold water slowly became heated. Cupping her hands under the current, the valkyrie splashed the liquid across her face and looked into the mirror, smiling softly.

That smile was wiped off her features immediately, however, and she would have backtracked if she wasn't so in control of her emotions.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed, her violet eyes burning into green.

“Just enjoying the view. I really am smoking hot!” Tamsin, the real valkyrie, quipped from the mirror, her eyes going to her full breasts and taut stomach as she cocked her head. Her smile waned and she said, “You know that isn't going to help the doc.”

Purple flashed to the flashdrive and back into the mirror, which was becoming foggy with the heat from the faucet. The green eyed valkyrie's vision, however, was crystal clear as she stood at odds with the vapor. “It will make her less vulnerable to the rest of the population.”

“It'll make her hate you, that's what it will do. Or it'll kill her.”

“I would never hurt her.”

“Don't you dare!” Tamsin fumed, ethereal sparks seeming to fly behind her as she seethed. “You tortured her. My hands are stained with her blood. How dare you say you wouldn't hurt her?”

The valkyrie slammed her hands onto the sink's counter. “What would you have me do, Shadow Soul? Allow her to stay as she is and die? This is absurd!”

“Look at me, arguing with myself. I really have gone off the deep end.” Tamsin pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply. “Look, your ignorance is distracting you from the bigger picture.”

The valkyrie could sense Tamsin's strain on the words 'bigger picture' and she replied, “I am looking out for Lauren, that is all.”

Tamsin laughed and said, “Lauren can take care of herself.” Shaking her head, looking around the darkened area she was in, she slowly looked into purple eyes and replied, “And because of your misplaced concern, you're not sensing what's going on above us. They're becoming... restless.”

“Who?”

Tamsin shrugged. “What did good ol' dad use to call them? The Dishonorable dead? Unholy beings.”

“I have not heard those names since-”

“Since I was a child, yeah. Bed time stories filled with blood, death, and destruction. Only the best for the favorite daughter.” Tamsin smiled ruthlessly and moved her hand over her hair.

It was a complete different picture as the valkyrie's blonde locks were drizzling down her shoulders while her reflection's was pulled into a tight bun. While one wore nothing, the other wore a tight green tank top without a bra, and make-up adorning her features. Her rosy cheeks were at odds with the valkyrie's pale ones and Tamsin didn't like what she was looking at.

“You look like death,” she commented.

“I am death.”

“Yeah, maybe, but that is still my body and if by some grace of Odin I get back into it, I would like it not to be malnourished.”

“Lauren tried to get you back. It did not work.”

Tamsin's voice raised an octave in fake enthusiasm, “Guess what! I know.” Her voice lowered and she said, “You tortured her for it.”

“You seem displeased.”

“Let me run it by you again. You. Tortured. Her.” Tamsin thought using her hands as a guide would help the valkyrie opposing her. It obviously didn't.

“She is fine now.”

“Yeah, because the _other_ person you tried to kill helped her survive. She thinks the only way to get me back is to give herself to you.”

“As if her love would be enough. It is nice, however.”

Tamsin shook her head. “It was enough to change me into you.”

The valkyrie mirrored her reflection as she shook her own head. “I am fae.” She said it as if it were explanation enough to make Tamsin a blood thirsty monster. “And soon Lauren will be too.”

“You should watch who you trust, valkyrie. It might come back and bite you in the ass.”

“I do not trust as freely as you did. No one can hide from my eyes.”

“Strange how she has been hiding under your nose for the last few days then.”

“Enough of your riddles!” the valkyrie seethed. Her violet eyes intensified as she looked at her soul; the _true_ nature of her soul, anyways. “You failed her and now it is my turn to succeed.”

“Father would be so proud.” Tamsin directed the insult to the glint of blood lust, not love, in her reflection's eyes.

“I will also succeed him if he interferes.”

Tamsin began to stare at the creature that had taken over her body and began to laugh uncontrollably. “You are so delusional!” she cried, her arms going to the sides of her stomach, her eyes closed in response to her ruckus laughter.

The valkyrie's definite and cold tone could be felt from across the room, “What is so funny?”

“You are!” Tamsin's smile wiped off her face and she became deadly serious. “He is the only person in the world, other than yours truly, who can save Lauren and every other fae and human in this territory. They are coming, valkyrie, and when they do, no one will be able to stop their destruction they will wrought across this small planet. And it will be on your head.”

“On our head,” the valkyrie corrected.

Tamsin chuckled as she turned away from the imposter. “I would sooner allow Lauren to kill me to save the world. I doubt you would give her such an honor.”

“She would never kill me. She loves me.”

The green eyed valkyrie turned sharply, stopping her movement away from the front of the mirror and she almost screamed, “She loves _me_! Everything she has done with you is in response to getting me back. She doesn't love you. Lauren could never love someone so cold.”

“And yet she chose you in the beginning. Did she not?”

That stung. Tamsin, however, calmed slowly and she sighed with a smile on her face. “I've warned you, valkyrie. The path you're going down is going to be a dark one. And by the end of it, you're not going to survive.”

“Then neither will you.” The valkyrie looked into green eyes as they turned and she whispered, “You will die with me. This I promise you.”

“We all gotta die someday,” Tamsin called, throwing up a peace sign, as she walked away into the darkness of the mirror. A whispering echo escaped the mirror as the last remnants of Tamsin's body seemed to ripple like water and disappear. Leaving only the purple eyed monster staring at a fogged outline of her own body.

“We all gotta die someday.”

+++

Bo Dennis awoke groggily and yawned languidly. It took her a moment to realize where she was, only remembering the events of an hour ago, and she calmed when she found herself in her own bed. Running a hand through her hair, she placed her other on the sheets and looked over at her sleeping partner as she rose off of the mat.

The man's chest was bare, raising and falling rhythmically in deep sleep. The sheets Bo had pulled around herself slightly raised from over her partner's groin and she smiled slightly before retrieving her phone off the side table. She did not realize they had gone to sleep after their entertainment, and when she checked the time, Bo almost screamed in agitation.

“Dyson, get up!” she yelled, shedding the covers off of her and placing her bare feet to the cold wooden ground. Slightly shivering, she made her way to the end of the bed, near her weapons case, and bent to retrieve her clothing. “Dyson, now!”

“What?” he asked, his voice betraying how deep in slumber he really had been. He probably didn't remember why they had screwed all night either.

“It's morning,” Bo said hurriedly as she pulled on her tank top then shirt.

“What are you talking about?”

“The compound, Dyson! Lauren and Hale.”

Dyson lifted from the bed as well and looked at his phone. “Shit,” he breathed after looking at the time and realizing what that entitled. “It's morning; we slept the night away.”

“Its morning,” Bo repeated, finally getting her belt secured around her pants. She felt stronger than she had the night before and she descended the stairs with her boots in hand. Bo didn't understand why Kenzi hadn't gotten them up when she realized they had fallen asleep, and after coming down the stairs, she found out. “Kenz, wake up.”

Bo shook her friend lightly, her voice even, as she found Kenzi with a sword in hand. The girl still had a rag and had fallen asleep cleaning the blade of crusted blood.

“Kenz!”

“I'm up!” The sword Kenzi was cleaning fell to the ground after hitting the table with a clash, and the girl watched it go down with tired eyes. Bringing the back of her hand across her closed lids she asked, “What time is it?”

“It's morning,” replied Bo, going to the kitchen as she retrieved her dagger holster from the table.

“What do you mean ‘it’s morning’?” Kenzi asked dubiously.

She quickly got to her feet and looked at the weapons wearily as her hand touched the side of her forehead. Bo wondered if she had gotten drunk in preparation for the days coming events but said nothing about it.

“I don't know. I don't know, we must have fallen asleep.”

“All of us,” Kenzi asked incredulous.

“All of us,” confirmed Dyson as he walked down the stairs, putting on his shirt. His service weapon was holstered at his side and he combed his hands through his hair to contain the curls.

“But, but, Hale an-and Lauren!”

“I know, Kenz. I know.” Bo came over to her friend and placed a comforting hand on her upper arm. Bending down and retrieving her dagger, she quickly holstered it and looked over to Dyson. “Are you grabbing anything here?”

The shifter shook his head. “I don't need weapons, you know that.”

“Right,” Bo whispered, shaking her head. Of course, she thought, he had claws for any battle or fight they would find themselves in.

“I'll get the mints,” Kenzi muttered as she walked hesitantly toward the kitchen and started looking around cabinets.

Bo shook her head - she would have told her friend how the bad guys wouldn't care how their breath smelled but decided against it - and sheathed another dagger into her second holster. Calling Dyson over, she got her back holster on with his help and retrieved her crossbow. She wasn't a fan of using it, but if Tamsin had more guards than the group thought, it would come in handy for long range combat.

Looking back at the table, she saw a strong sword she had used on many occasions, and sheathed it on her right side, just above her dagger. Looking back at Kenzi, who had chewed down half of the mints in the tray as she walked over, she sighed and took the tin can away from her.

“Are you going to get strapped up?”

“Yeah...”

“Kenzi, we're going to get them out, okay?”

“I know, Bo. Just... while we were sleeping, what else could have happened to them? They could have been killed in the night and we were here resting!”

“Kenz,” Bo hushed her friend, “we're going to get them out alive. We needed the recharge, and now we're going in fresh and with even more determination than before. They're going to be okay.”

The Gypsy girl's blue eyes peered into brown and she nodded her head slowly. Retrieving her own crossbow, the new one Bo had bought; she quickly secured the small bolt quiver on her back and looked at her friend again. Dyson had walked to the door, presumably to make a call, and was walking back when Kenzi finally spoke.

“Давайте дадим им ад!”*

+++

Lauren had to quickly glance at the ceiling and then at her hands as she sat in the passenger seat of the blacked out SUV. Jennifer had just driven up to the doors of the Morrigan's high rise, how she had gotten so close without the Dark's guards storming the vehicle was beyond the doctor, and they pulled to a stop just as the building doors opened and out popped a jubilant looking girl from the first time Lauren had visited.

Stepping out of the car Lauren smiled sweetly and kindly said, “Kiki, it's um...”

“Nice to see you too, Dr. Lewis. You get prettier every time you come here.”

Lauren would have blushed if not under the current circumstance, especially since she wore a plain dark blue v-neck with black pants, and she replied with a laugh. “I know it's a late request, but may I see the Morrigan?” Lauren's politeness and subterfuge when talking to the fae reared its ugly head and coated her words, “The Ash has sent me over to collect something from her.”

The girl laughed. “Funny,” she said, her chipper voice giving away her obvious wariness, “you aren't wearing the pendant given to all pets of the Light.”

The doctor's hand quickly went to her neck and she realized that she was indeed not wearing her pendant. Her mind feverishly withdrew to a time when she could have had it taken off of her, maybe she had taken it off herself, but for the life of her she could not remember. Had Tamsin removed it from around her neck when she was sleeping, or had Hale? It wasn't like she was really going to need it in the “New World” Tamsin was trying to construct. However, the knowledge of the loss of the pendant was somehow... strange.

A tight smile lifted the doctor's lips and she said, “Must have forgotten it in my other lab coat.”

Kiki laughed at that too and replied, “Of course, Dr. Lewis. If not for your standing in the Light's council, I would have had to throw you in the dungeons to await trial.”

“Trial for what?” Lauren's curiosity got the better of her, instead of dwelling on the threat about the dungeons, and she visibly retracted from Jennifer's body coming around the car and standing close to her. The human could tell Kiki had seen her discomfort and her eyes seemed to dim from her fake enthusiasm.

“You have been with the light for some time, doctor. The Morrigan would probably make you pay for the crimes of the ones who owned you.”

“This is irrelevant,” Jennifer spoke, her words cutting through the tension like a knife through butter. “We are here to see the Morrigan. Take us to her, girl.”

Kiki's brown eyes traveled to that of the elves blue ones and she gave a wholesome smile. “Of course. But the Morrigan will only see one. Dr. Lewis, right this way.”

Jennifer quickly stepped in front of Lauren and placed a hand back behind her on the doctor's stomach, stopping her in her tracks. “Wherever she goes, I go.”

“You can wait outside of the door if you'd like. But Ms. Marquise is a busy woman and will only have one inside of her office at a time. You are still light and if you don't follow the rules, we can and will kill you for stepping on Dark territory.” Kiki's face brightened and she said, “Now, Dr. Lewis, please follow me. I trust you remember the way.”

Lauren nodded her head slightly and looked up towards Jennifer quickly before stepping around her motionless body to walk inside of the building; trailing behind Kiki. She heard the slight movement of Jennifer walking behind them and when the elevator chimed and the doors opened, the elf walked in first and stood behind the two like a stone gargoyle.

When the door finally opened and Kiki stepped out, Lauren quickly followed with the light fae agitatedly glowering as she walked behind them. The hallways and building in general were just as grand as Lauren remembered and she was on her second double take when Kiki stopped and moved her hand toward the door as if she were a bellboy.

“She's expecting you, doctor.”

Lauren smiled but was not ready to enter yet. Morrigan be damned, she had to know what was troubling her heart. “I'm sorry to keep her waiting, but last time I was here I saw those beautiful paintings on the wall.”

Kiki's eyes traveled to said paintings and she seemed to grow meek.

“I finally got the name of the person who painted them... Are those your work?”

The girl's face seemed to fall as her brown eyes scavenged the canvases. The beautiful brushwork, the articulate design of the strands of grass and clouds of the sky, sitting for hours on end just painting, listening to soft music as she swayed on her stool. It all came crashing back to her as she looked upon them.

“Yes,” she finally said, “I painted them.”

“And you had come to the Morrigan to excel. Didn't you?” Lauren already knew the answer; she did not have to see the way the girl's shoulders dropped slightly to know she had guessed correctly.

“I was more use to her as her assistant than a painter anyways,” the girl said, her psychotically chipper voice from the first time Lauren had met her creeping back into her voice. “Please, the Morrigan is waiting. You can sit out here and wait,” the comment was instructed towards Jennifer and the elf's blue eyes pierced that of brown before she sat down.

The fae's arms and legs were poised and Lauren knew if anything were to happen in the room, say her screams of pain or abuse, the elf would quickly dart in and save her; if only to win over her precious Sovereign. Lauren inwardly scoffed at her own foolish thoughts and she watched as Kiki walked back to the elevators. The doctor could tell, however, that the girl was trying her very best to not gaze upon her own work when she pushed the button to call the lift. It came quickly and she was on it in a flash, her brown hair disappearing through the doors in the blink of the eyes.

Taking a deep breath, making sure to not look toward the angry elf, Lauren entered the Morrigan's office for the second time in her life.

+++

_Tamsin had taken off her lover's pendant the first night they had slept together in the Ash's bed. The woman was sleeping, her blonde curls, matted with dried blood, were clumped strands behind her on the pillow. Her face was turned toward the valkyrie and her arm was to her side, her fingers splayed. If the valkyrie had not known any better, she would have thought even in slumber the doctor looked restrained. Ignoring this, Tamsin slowly unclasped the pendant's chain and raised it off of the doctor's neck with caution. She did not want to wake the woman up from their feverish night, especially since she had harmed the woman on accident that very day._

_Placing the accursed pendant in the drawer of the side table, the valkyrie had run her hands over Lauren's collarbones lightly, all too aware how good it looked to see the human without her restraints._

_Even if the valkyrie would set new ones for her..._

_So when Tamsin had walked back out of the bathroom that night, the flashdrive tucked between her index and middle finger, she did not hide her disdain with idle glances at Lauren's covered collarbones. The valkyrie had forgotten she had moved the sheets up to the woman's neck, and she quickly tore the covers away to rest on the doctor's midsection after putting the flashdrive into the same drawer the forgotten pendant rested in._

_The purple eyed monster saw her lover's nipple almost immediately turn hard and she descended upon it curtly. A soft moan, then an intake of breath, told the valkyrie her lover was just waking up and she moved the covers over her own body as she placed her thigh in the space between the doctor's legs._

_“Tell me you love me,” the valkyrie whispered, her strong arms holding her body above the human's as the latter ran the back of her hand over her lids._

_“What time is it, Tamsin?” Her voice was groggy with sleep and her eyes were visibly heavy. If not for her body’s reactions to the valkyrie's pressure on her nether regions, she was sure she would have gone straight back to sleep._

_“Lauren,” the valkyrie's words were husky, “tell me you love me.” She urged._

_Warm hands pressed to the sides of Tamsin's face and fingers played with the strands of soft hair that were running down onto the woman's bare chest. “I love Tamsin.” A jerk of the thigh made Lauren's lids close and she bit her lip to hold back a moan. The answer she gave was obviously not the right one. She couldn't see the valkyrie's eyes above her, but she knew her Tamsin had not clocked back in yet. Even after their night together, it seemed to be her love was not solely enough to bring Tamsin back. If not just her love, what else could Lauren do?_

_“I_ am _Tamsin,” the valkyrie said, her hand moving just beside the doctor's neck, her thumb pressing on the small hollow crevice between collarbone and throat._

_“Then doesn't that mean I love you?” Lauren swallowed with difficulty as the thumb Tamsin pressed into her throat increased in pressure. “Tamsin?”_

_“Why won't you just accept me?”_

_“Tamsin, please-”_

_“I'm giving you everything. I'm making the city safer for you. Why won't you just love me!”_

_The words were barely spoken as the pressure on her neck was so great,“I do, baby.”_

_“You don't! You love_ her _. She couldn't protect you and you still want her. I'm better in every way so tell me why!”_

_“Because... you keep hurting me,” Lauren choked out, her left hand finally coming to pull at the valkyrie's right._

_Tamsin's hand quickly moved to grasp Lauren's, pinning it to the bed and squeezing, and she bent her head down to give a hectic kiss. It was received with less passion, and she wanted to slap the human for denying her yet again._

_“She hurt you and you did not care.”_

_“It was different,” the doctor said._

_If Tamsin hadn't known any better, she'd have thought the human crying. “She hurt you more times than I can count when she was fucking you.” The valkyrie whispered and felt the human's body shudder under her at her crassness but continued, “Even after when she left you alone in your bed. She wormed her way into your heart and your mind and then she ignored you for weeks. She hurt you far longer than I could ever imagine. I am so much better.”_

_“And how is that?” Lauren asked, her tone turning to that of regret and pain. “How is torturing me, hurting the people I care for, and keeping me as_ your _slave better than what she did to me because she was as lost as I was?”_

_“Why do you hate me so?”_

_“Because you took over the woman I loved and you won't give her back to me.”_

_Definite tears, the valkyrie decided as she heard the human's voice break. “Would giving her to you this night change your view of me?”_

_Lauren was silent for a few moments before saying, “Y-you would do that?”_

_“If it would make you stop hating me... I will allow you this one night with her.”_

_“Please,” Lauren's words were high and pleading, “just one night and I'll be better. I'll do whatever you say. I'll be... good. Please.”_

_Moments passed between the two women in silence. Lauren would have said something if not for the sudden shift in the air. The body above her suddenly yielded to the human's touch, and her right hand that was clutching Lauren's left wrist went soft. Gentle strands of hair tickled down the doctor's bare chest as the valkyrie's head lowered until her forehead was laying peacefully on flesh, and her left hand slowly raised to caress Lauren's face and lips. The thigh pressed between the doctor's legs slowly raised and fell back down onto the bed just beside Lauren's, so that the body above her was simply straddling her, and the valkyrie sighed after breathing the human in languidly._

_“Tamsin?”_

_The voice was gruff, but it held its unique abrasive yet snarky and gentle tone, “It's me, doc.”_

_Hands suddenly flew to the back of the valkyrie's head, tangling in the strands of hair, and Lauren bent her head to kiss the top of her lover's head. She longed to see beautiful green eyes, but just her voice would do; if only for now. “Tamsin, is that really you?”_

_“I didn't think she'd actually do it.”_

_The question was asked quickly and with little thought on the doctor's part, “How can I fix you, Tamsin? How can I bring you back?”_

_Tamsin chuckled.“She won't let me tell you that. If I try, she'll take over again and I'd rather spend the night here if you don't mind.”_

_“Can you tell me where you go when she comes out?”_

_“You don't want to know that one, doc. You really don't.”_

_“Please, Tamsin, I-”_

_“Doc, can I please just sleep with you tonight? If I get one night on the earth, I'd rather spend it listening to your heartbeat.”_

_“I'm sorry...”_

_“Hey,” Tamsin rose from her comfortable spot on Lauren's chest and moved her legs until she was slightly sitting on her girlfriend's legs, “don't you ever be sorry for anything.” The valkyrie moved her left leg to join her right on one side of the doctor's body and she hunkered down in the sheets. “Remember our first Christmas together?”_

_Lauren's smile would have filled the entire room with its brilliance. The fact she had been thinking the exact thing just that morning made it so much better. She laughed slightly and nodded. “If I recall, you tripped on the ice and wanted to get off immediately.”_

_“The ice had an unfair advantage. What, I'm for real!” the valkyrie exclaimed when the doctor's laughter filled the darkened room. “Yelling, 'Go forth and be one with the ice!' is not very helpful when I first start out ice skating, doc! I have tried every form of ways to getting around, but skating on ice is beyond me.”_

_“So are snowball fights,” Lauren said, her lids closing as Tamsin's head rested just above her breast, on her heart._

_“Which I won,” Tamsin whispered, her smile being heard through her words easily._

_“Because you cheated!”_

_“I did not. I caught you unaware, and you paid the price.”_

_“Yelling 'snow fight' is not catching me unaware. It's cheating! And even though you did, I still won.”_

_“Throwing your entire regiment of snowballs was a tactical disadvantage,” the valkyrie said in a very impressive infomercial voice._

_Lauren laughed and said, “But it won me the battle.”_

_Tamsin grinned and replied, “So it did, doc. So it did.”_

_The women were in comfortable silence for a few moments until Lauren spoke softly, “I've missed you, Tamsin.”_

_The valkyrie's hand moved across the doctor's stomach to hold her side, hovering over the latter's healed stomach wound slightly. “I've missed you too, Lauren.”_

_Lauren bent down slightly to kiss the top of her lover's head again, her mind thinking of when she had been dying on one of her hospital beds and Tamsin had said her name for the first time. She moved her hand to brush into the valkyrie's hair, and she closed her eyes as she nestled in to rest on the top of her lover's head._

_The hand around Lauren's side slightly squeezed as Tamsin also began to relax for sleep, and she secretly loved the doctor's hand through her hair. It was always the other way around, Tamsin would allow the doctor to rest on her when she had spent the night after the Dawning, and the sudden change of roles was welcomed._

_If only for that night._

_+++_

The purple eyed monster shook her head as the valkyrie girl beside her pointed to the screen. She was tired of remembering as she watched through Tamsin's eyes the lover's conversation. Lauren would never have such a light hearted discussion with her, and she wanted to wring her neck for it. No, the valkyrie reprimanded herself, Lauren would not be harmed. She wouldn't be hurt by anyone, not even her own self.

“The research shows that you cannot just take anyone's bone marrow and place it into a human. It first has to be compatible, like any donor,” Ætta said, her fingers pressed against the numerous pictures and text across the screen. “It is not even the bone marrow that we are after really. It is the stem cells inside of it along with their blood cell production.”

“Yes, yes,” the valkyrie said, her head shaking from one side to the other in aggravation, “how do I know if my marrow will be compatible with Lauren's?”

“You want to make her a valkyrie, commander? Isn't there something else you could think of?”

“Why not a valkyrie?”

Purple eyes turned on gray and the girl gulped. “You would have her trade in a life of servitude for another one. The only difference is this one would demand her watch as others die around her, while the last one at least gave her the opportunity to save them.”

“Lauren will be happy with this choice,” the valkyrie said, her voice definite.

“ _He_ won't be so happy with the decision, sister,” Ætta pressed, her hand going to the valkyrie's arm.

“Since when do I care what He wants?”

“He can take your essence in a simple stroke of his hand! That seems to cause alarm to one such as I.”

The valkyrie looked down at her progeny. “This body belongs to someone close to him. Even you know that. He could not take my essence without taking hers.” Her voice turned mocking as she said, “I quiver to think that is why I am still able to help you and Lauren after my abuse of power.”

Ætta was silent for a few moments until she whispered, “Tamsin... have you given any thought to what we discussed earlier?”

Purple eyes stopped flashing across text they could not understand and looked back up to the valkyrie standing beside her now. “To release them would be a grave mistake.”

“But you could control them. They'd do whatever you said.”

“It would make Lauren and you more at risk than you already are.”

“They could take out the people that are putting us at risk, sister. We would know peace then. We would be safe.”

“I said no.”

The finality in the older valkyrie's voice brought hesitance to the younger, but she still spoke, “Then we will both die!”

“Enough!” Tamsin quickly bolted from her seat and it was the only thing moving in the room as it swiveled around. The valkyrie's were standing close together, so close that some would think it was an intimate moment, but it was far from arousing. Tamsin's hand clutched tightly around Ætta's neck and the latter's hands went up to claw uselessly at them. “I have made my verdict, girl. They will stay in the sky where they belong. Now, can I trust you to run the tests of compatibility between Lauren and I, or will I have to find someone else?”

“You are not compatible,” Ætta strained out.

Tamsin was dubious at best but she let go of the girl's neck and asked, “How do you know?”

“I've always had a different ability than you, sister. Connections between people are my specialty. You and Lauren do not have it. You will have to find a different fae to turn her into. Or waste time trying to find a valkyrie who is just like her.”

“No... she must be a valkyrie.”

“I can find you a fae, sister... If you trust me enough.”

“I trust you.” Tamsin shook her head as she sat back into her chair. She ran a hand through her locks and was completely disinterested in where the conversation had led, “I do not know why I said otherwise.” If she could not make Lauren a valkyrie...

“It was out of anger and love, I understand,” the young valkyrie said. “I can-”

“Shh,” the valkyrie's head shot up from looking idly at the table, and she hushed her sister as she raised off of the chair again.

“What is it?” Ætta whispered, knowing her mentor would not care if she spoke so low.

“Be off immediately to retrieve the bone marrow,” Tamsin whispered back, her hand going to the small laptop, closing the lid with a wicked smile on her lips, “for we have company.”

+++

Lauren entered the room much as she did the first time. Her eyes wandered around to the exquisite looking interior, and out at the tall buildings that the one she was standing in far outmatched. The scotch and brandy selection seemed to have been undisturbed and the furniture looked as if it was never used. The Morrigan was doing the exact same thing she always was, on her laptop, and Lauren walked slowly yet unconsciously to the desk.

Clearing her throat seemed to do nothing, Lauren did find however that the Morrigan had painted her nails since the last time she was there, and she said, “Morrigan.”

“I'll be with you in a minute.”

The brunette never stopped typing and Lauren's nerves wracked her body in the form of her producing her fake smile and her eyes darting quickly to the ceiling and back toward the woman.

“Evony, I've come because I need to know how you knew this was going to happen.”

A sudden twitch descended upon the Morrigan's hands and she stopped typing for a moment to glance up at the human brave enough, or stupid enough, to think she was on a first name basis with the leader of the fucking Dark. “That what was going to happen?”

“Please don't insult my intelligence.” Lauren was speaking much bolder than she felt, but her facade never dropped, “You asked me to complete a favor for you, to keep yourself alive at any consequence to me. You asked me that only moments before Tamsin became that thing. If you know about it, then you know how to stop it.”

“Aren't we presumptuous,” the Morrigan said, getting up from her desk and walking over to the alcoholic tray. “Would you like any?”

“No, thank you.”

The strain in the human's voice was evident and it made the Morrigan smile as she turned away and poured herself a glass. She took her time sipping down the liquid and she only turned after the entire glass was emptied. “I don't know how to stop her. I just knew it was coming,” she confessed, her fingers playing with the glass.

“There isn't much going on in the city that you don't know about,” replied Lauren, not falling for the ruse.

“The world must be ending for the day to come when a lowly human pet would challenge my word.”

“I'm sorry,” Lauren apologized, her hand going to the side of her head quickly before falling to her side. “Morrigan, you should know that Tamsin will know if I need her here; if I am in danger.”

Brown eyes flashed and the Morrigan asked, “What are you trying to imply, human?”

“Only that if I start causing myself to hyperventilate, if I make it seem as if I am in danger, she will come for me and do... whatever she thinks is necessary to see that I am safe.”

“You would let her kill me even with our deal? What kind of human would that make you?”

“A merciful one,” Lauren whispered, her strong jaw setting in determination.

The Morrigan laughed and placed her glass down. So the human had balls, it seemed. The usage of her own words thrown back at her was not expected, and she had to give the human credit for that small feat indeed. “I've told you all I know, doctor. I knew Tamsin would change but after that, everything is growing uncertain like the roll of the dice.”

“This isn't a dice game, Morrigan. People are going to die if Tamsin, the real Tamsin, doesn't get back into her own body. The valkyrie will go crazy eventually and she'll destroy the whole city.”

The Morrigan shrugged and walked to the front of her desk, just mere inches away from Lauren. “I can't help you. I wouldn't know where to start. Shit's about to hit the fan again. They are coming, along with the valkyrie's fury, and there will be some of you that won't survive it.”

“What are you talking about? Who will die? What is coming?”

“The blood die has been rolled, Dr. Lewis. It just depends on what number it'll land on.” The Morrigan watched with an amused stare as Lauren looked down in thought and suddenly started for the door, her feet carrying her into a slow run that would most likely break out into a fast one as she hit the hallway. “Do give my regards to Tamsin, sweetcheeks!” she yelled after her, just as the door hit it's frame as it swung shut.

Things were moving at an accelerated rate, Evony thought as she placed a well manicured nail to her lips after watching the doctor run from the room. She was ready for the brimstone. Even ready for the fall of all things fae. But was she ready for the valkyrie's fury so soon?

Shaking her head, the Morrigan went back to her computer screen to send one last message to her source. Hopefully, if things turned out for the worst, she wouldn't have to chip a nail.

* * *

 

*”Давайте дадим им ад!” Is Russian which means “Let's give 'em hell!” in English.


	5. Blood Honor

_There will be once in your life, if you are lucky, that you will meet the famous valkyrja. Their magnificence will burn like fire; their eyes like brimstone. For one such as you, it will be the highest honor that can be bestowed onto your being. Their power will far exceed yours; this is why you must be vigilant and exact. If you miss your chance to be in their presence, if you happen upon one, your family line will fall into dishonor. The one valkyrie, the one who's eyes burn violet, will be the one and only sovereign to our people. To be in her presence will be the pinnacle of your entire existence._

_Honor and love will fall upon your family if you are glorified enough to meet the sovereign. However, be cautious, if you do not follow her orders to the letter, you will fall into the wrath of_ _Óðinn, for she is his daughter. He will turn yourself against kin and make you slaughter them; only to benefit himself for you to serve in his sacred halls of Valhalla. Her mother would not be able to quell his rage._

_Sacrifice your own morals for this honor, Jennifer, for if you don't, you will be hurting your lineage along with yourself. Be wary, my child._

+++

Jennifer's thoughts were far from easy as she remembered her mother telling her of the prestigious award of working with the valkyrie. Hurting the human was something she cared not to do, nor was keeping tabs on the weaker valkyrie girl for signs of betrayal. But she had to, for the sake of her family's honor, she had to... didn't she?

The slap she had given the human had reverberated through her inner core, piercing her consciousness every chance it got. She was fae, yes, but she was also Light. She didn't believe in the harsh cruelty set upon humans for the simple fact they were less genetically advanced than the fae, but any action she had been implementing for the last few days would completely deny that fact.

The only reason she had even been allowed to live while all other fae guards were being massacred was because of her immediate devotion to the purple-eyed valkyrie. The Icelandic blonde would not have given her the light of day, her dagger raised above her head to attack, until of course Jennifer had quickly told her of the elven loyalty to the great valkyrja. It had saved her, and it was continually saving her, for the last four days. She would do anything Tamsin asked of her, if only to give her family the honor it deserved.

The elf's hands were pressed to her head in thought when the doors to the Morrigan's office burst open and she only saw beautiful blonde hair streaming past her. Getting up immediately, she followed the doctor to the elevator where the woman was pushing the button fiercely.

“Dr. Lewis,” Jennifer said, her hand clamping down onto the human's shoulder.

Shaking it off, the elf found the woman hesitated; as if she thought Jennifer would harm her again, Lauren said, “Something's wrong at the compound. We have to get back there.”

“What is wrong?” Did it have something to do with the sovereign, she wanted to ask.

“The Morrigan said...” Lauren shook her head and continued, “I just feel that something bad is going to happen. We have to get back to the compound,” she repeated as she entered the elevator and pounded the now red-brimmed first floor button.

Jennifer would have asked what the human was talking about but before she could, the elevator suddenly stopped after hitting the sixth floor and the lights immediately dimmed in emergency setting.

“What was that?” the human asked, her voice steady but her quick breathing betraying to the elf her own fear.

“Someone has shut down the elevator,” Jennifer replied, going to the door and pressing her ear next to the steel. “The Morrigan has betrayed us.”

“What purpose would she have?”

Cobalt eyes turned on brown. “What happened in the room, human?”

The elf saw the distaste of the insult in the woman's face but the blonde shook it off and said, “She couldn't give me any information. The only thing she told me was that something was coming. Something that would take the life of...” She shook her head and turned toward the back of the elevator.

“Why would she try to kill you?”

The human's voice was sarcastic at best, “Why do you think she's trying to kill me? It's not because, oh I don't know, I'm the prize of the woman who's been massacring all fae recently!”

“She has no use of me, nor have I talked to her. The only reason she would lock us in this elevator and possibly kill us is because of you,” Jennifer responded as if she did not understand, or pick up, on the human's sarcasm.

“Will you give me to her, Jennifer?”

The elf looked toward the human and her eyes flickered with thought. Should she let the human be taken? Possibly killed or tortured. What would that do to Jennifer's family? Would they be killed if word got out that the elf had gone against her sovereign? There were too many questions and not enough time to think, not even for her large brain's synapses. She could not think of an appropriate outcome that would get them both out of the facility and off of Dark-owned territory alive.

“It wouldn't benefit me, Dr. Lewis. I will get you out.”

Lauren visibly calmed and her shoulders slumped as she rested her back on the wall. “I don't understand where Tamsin is. I never thought I'd want her here, but she said she'd know when I was in danger.”

“The sovereign is having her own fun. We will have to get ourselves out.”

Fingers wormed their way into the crevice of the elevator doors and with a heave, the elf pushed them open albeit slowly.

“Lewis, it’s time to leave,” the elf huffed, her arms straining as she moved the doors halfway open, just enough to get both of them out. The clutch mechanism held the doors in place, as they were not completely opened but they were not entirely closed, and Jennifer stood beside the doors looking over to the doctor.

“Do you really think it's just a coincidence that the elevator went out just as we reached the sixth floor?”

The elf nodded, catching onto what the human was trying to say. “They will be outside waiting for us.”

Nodding, Lauren looked around the elevator and to the top of the steel box. “This is a common elevator in a high-rise building,” she began, “that means it must have a gearless traction. If we hit the stop button, we may be able to crawl out of the top and get to an emergency shaft of one of the floors.”

“We may get out of the building, but we would never make it off of Dark territory,” Jennifer replied, her own eyes traveling up to the service latch.

Lauren shook her head, “We just have to get to a phone. If Tamsin isn't here yet, if she really can't sense when I'm in danger, then maybe a phone call will convince her.”

+++

“Who would lock this door?”

“Bo, if you just-”

“No, I got it!”

Kenzi sighed and looked back at Dyson. They were all standing outside of the Light fae compound while Bo tried her damndest to open the doors to the facility. For some reason, it was the succubus who was trying to pick the lock instead of the thief and this decision triggered an eye roll from Kenzi, as she crossed her arms. They didn't have time for this.

The trio had been walking for minutes as the succubus wanted to park incredibly far from the compound to make sure Tamsin wouldn't hear the beat up Camaro coming. But if the valkyrie was paying any sort of attention, the only reason they had gotten through last time was because of Hale causing a distraction Kenzi would think anxiously, they would all be caught before they even entered the building.

“I thought this thing was opened when you were here,” Bo said agitatedly as she jiggled the makeshift lock pick.

“For freakin'-” Kenzi said, grabbing the lock pick away from her best friend and squatting down as Bo raised to stand by Dyson.

“You can't do everything by yourself, Bo,” Dyson remarked as his love came to stand by him.

“What needs to be done inside this building is on my head, Dyson. So yeah, I kinda do need to do everything.”

“Killing Tamsin-”

“I don't want to kill her, Dyson.” Bo turned away from Kenzi so that her voice would not travel. Crossing her arms, her left shoulder barely brushing Dyson's right she began, “Don't you think I know exactly what it's like to have this dark thing inside of you? Taking control at moment’s notice and killing... everything you love.” Brown eyes pierced blue and she continued, “I know that we can't save Tamsin if Lauren hasn't already. I know because Lauren is the only one that could make me come back from...” Shaking her head she said, “Just as Ætta said, if we can't stop her then the entire world is going down in flames. It ends here.”

Nodding his head, Dyson wasn't able to respond as Kenzi made an impressive 'Aha!' and raised to her feet as she pushed the door open with a large grin on her face. Bo turned and smiled at her friend, retrieving her sword from its holster and walking inside the compound, patting Kenzi on the shoulder as she walked passed her.

The entrance, and the halls, of the building were at stark contrast to that of when Dyson and the Gypsy girl had walked the same floors as before. It just so happened that the ones they witnessed now were completely clean of any bodies, blood, or internal organs.

“Wow,” Kenzi said, in awe of her surroundings.

“Wow is right,” Dyson replied.

“I don't understand that reference,” Bo remarked as she walked in front of her allies. “Where do we start?”

“Tamsin was in the throne room last time,” Dyson said, his nostrils flared as he tried to detect any faint traces in the air. He was picking up copious quantities of bleach and ammonia and he had to cover his nose from time to time.

“What about Hale?” Kenzi asked, her eyes flying to the back of the succubus' head.

“He was also in the throne room.”

“But what if Lauren helped him? Wouldn't he be in Dr. Hotpants' lab?”

Bo replied before Dyson could, “Then that's where we start first.”

+++

Walking the halls of the compound was tentative as the trio wished to calm their erratic beating hearts. At any moment a wild guard Tamsin could have hired or made follow her, pop around the corner and try to skewer them, or a random step of their shoes- Kenzi, of course, had on her heels that could only fit a porn star- would clink on the floor harder than expected and make them all jump. Scared mindless, they thought if not the guard that would turn the corner and attack, it would be the valkyrie herself. They would individually shudder when the thought reached them; and oh did it fill their minds at every minute.

Finally getting to the double panned doors of Lauren's lab, the friends let out a collective sigh of relief as they reached their destination, and their salvation. Bo, sword in hand, looked back toward Dyson and Kenzi, who had her crossbow ready and aimed at the door. The succubus' hand quivered over the sensor to activate the sliding frame of the door and she took a deep breath before stepping in full view of the sensor.

The door slid open immediately, the trio at the ready, they looked around the seemingly vacant room. Bo stepped in first, her sword lowering only a fraction as she surveyed the area and opened her mouth to call on the doctor softly.

Just before the syllables rose from her throat to leave her lips, a high pitched whistling noise reached Bo's ears and she dropped her weapon as her hands flew to her ears. Screaming bloody murder, she dropped to her knees as she tried to open one eye to see where the attack was coming from. Gritting her teeth, she slowly reached down to grab her weapon when she faintly heard a female yelling beside her.

“Hale, it's us!” Kenzi cried, coming into the room with her weapon down.

The head splitting noise suddenly stopped and Bo let out a harsh breath as she fell onto her hands.

“Oh shit,” Hale breathed, coming out of his hiding spot- which was below Lauren's desk, but it still had ample view to attack- and running over to the group. “I'm sorry, Bo! I didn't-”

“It's fine,” Bo huffed, retrieving her weapon and getting to her feet. Slowly raising delicate fingers to her ears, she nonchalantly flicked away streaming blood. Shaking her head, she shushed Dyson's concerned questions as she looked over to Hale.

The Ash and the Gypsy embraced forcefully and Hale was saying how much he had missed her.

“You jerk!” Kenzi suddenly yelled, pulling away and hitting the Ash on the shoulder.

“Ow! Kenz, what was that for?”

“I thought you were dead! I thought you-” Kenzi's words were cut short by a hand over her mouth as she looked down. She was not one to express feelings to just anyone while others watched on.

“I'm sorry... I didn't mean...” Hale gathered her into a hug and pressed his cheek on her head. He really did seem completely ashamed of not trying to get a call or something out to the girl when he obviously could if he was in the lab all day.

“It's good to see you,” Dyson said after Hale and Kenzi had disengaged.

A smile. “Good to see you too, partner.”

“Where's Lauren?” Bo asked, her eyes scavenging the room. Not that she was unhappy Hale was alive, she simply had other things on her mind and the ringing in her ears didn't help her mood towards the living Ash.

“She told me she was going to the Morrigan's high-rise. Something about trying to get info on how to get Tamsin back.”

“How would the Morrigan know anything about that?”

The Ash shrugged. “I don't know. Something about her already knowing Tamsin was going to turn in the first place.”

“Wait a minute, could this all be pencil eyebrows' fault?” Kenzi asked incredulously, turning to Bo. Her hand was still on Hale's chest and her blue eyes were on brown.

The succubus shook her head. “Regardless who is to blame, right now we have to get to the throne room. It's better if Lauren isn't here for this.”

“Bo,” Hale whispered, coming over to place a hand on the succubus' shoulder as she began to walk away. When she turned, he continued, “I get that you know what Tamsin is now. But I also know you understand her more than anyone else in the room.”

Bo's eyes dimmed but burned with fire when she looked into Hale's eyes. “What does that have to do with any of this?”

“We can try to reason with her.”

“I'm all for TamTam being on our side, but she tried to _kill_ you, Hale!” Kenzi cut in, her arms flying in the air as she pointed to her not-quite-boyfriend.

“If we kill her, and that's a big if, then Lauren will not forgive any of us. She'll hate you, Bo. Is that really something you're willing to let happen?”

Bo's grip on the hilt of her sword tightened as she looked over to Dyson then to Hale. “I don't want to do this, you all know that. I want to try to save anyone I can. And like you said, I know what Tamsin is going through more than anyone else. That's why I know that she has to be stopped now or she's going to just get stronger. Lauren's had four days and Tamsin still isn't herself. What has she done in those four days to Lauren, Hale?” When the Ash couldn't say, only looking over helplessly to Dyson, Bo continued, “That's what I thought. It would be the same exact thing I would do to her if she hadn't have brought me out of the dark all those times. I will reason with her one last time, and if doesn't work, then I'll be the one to get Lauren's wrath. Got it?”

The trio nodded in unison and Bo turned sharply, walking out of the door without a second look back.

She had to do it, Bo reasoned with herself as she walked the halls with her allies behind her. She had to or Tamsin was going to destroy everything. Where Bo's darker side would want to rule at all costs, destroy the boundaries of the sides, and only kill who got in her way, Tamsin would kill anyone or anything to achieve her goal for no other reason but for sport. She would harm Lauren, if she hadn't already, and maybe even kill her in a fit of rage. Bo knew the darkness in the valkyrie's chest must outweigh her own as the latter had been alive for centuries, where the succubus had been on the earth for only thirty years. There was more fury there, unlike in Bo who's only anger was pointed to when Kenzi didn't do the dishes or throw out the trash.

Bo didn't know all what Tamsin could do, but she was damn sure it would outmatch her own abilities tenfold. That was why she wanted to surprise the valkyrie, maybe get in close to use her seductive touch to try to level the playing field.

_Would that even work?_

Bo shook her head as she walked down the halls and stopped dead just before entering the waiting area that lead into the throne room. The doors were still closed and she looked back at her allies as she breathed in deeply. They all nodded in turn, Dyson's eyes quickly turning to black and gold for a moment, Kenzi's crossbow trained shoulder height, and Hale's eyes darting from Bo to the door. Raising up her sword, Bo turned and walked to the doors, her hand over the knob.

It was finally time.

+++

“This would be much simpler if we weren't already so high,” Lauren huffed out as she placed a freezing hand to the metal elevator shaft ladder.

“We are almost there, human,” Jennifer replied, uncaring or unfeeling of the cold air around them.

“Of course. I'm only human,” Lauren whispered.

It wasn't the matter of their strength or will to continue up the elevator shaft. It all depended on if Lauren's hands and body would freeze, thus losing her grip and falling to her death, before they got to a safety latch to escape. If there had been gloves or some kind of vest she could have worn, there would not have been a problem. But as she got into the shaft and began to climb, her human characteristics reared their ugly head. Her temperature quickly plummeted and it wasn't long before it was a chore for the woman to simply lift her arm above her head to grasp the next step of the ladder.

Jennifer, on the other hand, did not seem to care about the cold wind that cascaded over them, nor did she notice that Lauren's strength was failing her as her body shook slightly. It was warm in the building, from the unnatural heat wave that had been washing over the town or from the incessant need for warmth of the Dark, she did not know. The doctor thought it was simply because they were already so high in the air, thus the temperature drop but that was not the case. Jennifer decided it was simply someone in the building who had turned down the temperature on the few floors they had been climbing. And when she thought of them turning it down, she really meant they had cranked up the AC and had somehow turned it to premature Christmas in the shaft.

The human wasn't going to survive if they didn't hurry and Jennifer was as happy as she could be that the escape latch was only a few feet away.

“Give me your hand,” Jennifer said, turning after stepping lightly on the slim door frame of the tenth floor.

“G-get the door opened first,” Lauren whispered, trying to keep her grip on the ladder. She pulled her arm around the step and held it there with her other on her wrist.

The fae did as commanded and immediately turned and pushed open the elevator doors. Lauren would have been impressed by such strength if not for her noticing she could see her breath as she huffed out air from her lungs uncontrollably. Jennifer poked her head out of the doors and saw no one in sight. Turning, she offered her hand to the human.

“Thank you,” Lauren said, reaching for the outstretched hand slowly.

Jennifer quickly raised her out of the elevator and moved her over to the side of the doors. It was suddenly hot in the hallway and Lauren noticed it.

“It's as if a fae caused the elevator to drastically drop in temperature.”

“That is what I presume happened,” Jennifer agreed, looking around the hallway for any kind of threat. “We should wait here for your limbs to regain their normal function.”

Lauren nodded and closed her eyes, trying to create as much friction as she could by rubbing her hands together.

The fae looked her over twice and could not stay silent any longer. “Why do you go against the Sovereign in such a manner? This would not have happened if you had listened to her- if she had come here with you.”

“Why do you care so much, Jennifer?” Lauren asked exasperated, looking up at the elven fae.

“You are under my protection-”

“I am under your heel. You aren't meant to protect me; you're here to put me in my place if I mess up.” Lauren's head dipped and she whispered, “I apologize. I didn't mean to-”

“You are speaking as you should,” Jennifer interrupted. “I do not wish to harm you, but I must obey the Sovereign, for my family and my blood honor.”

“What would happen to them if you didn't follow her orders?” Lauren inquired.

Jennifer's eyes twinkled and she said, “Are you ready to move, doctor? We must get to an office and to a phone.”

The human nodded slowly and was trying to get to her feet. She was taken aback by the sudden hand that was extended to her by the elf. Smiling slightly, Lauren took it with a quick 'Thank you' before allowing the fae to help her up.

“Every door on this floor seems to lead to an office,” Jennifer was saying as she helped the doctor up. “We should-”

Her words were cut off immediately and she pushed Lauren hard in the stomach. The human let out a whoosh of breath as she was thrust back and into the open doors. Quickly clawing at the open door frames, something that would have been completely unable moments before, her brown orbs were wide as her heels caught the frame and held her there. It was all she had to not look below her and to the sheer drop back down to the elevator car that was sitting far below them.

The doctor watched as a hard fist connected to Jennifer's right cheek, and the elf bent her knees as she spun around. Achieving her circle, the fae suddenly brought a fist up and square into the jaw of the dark assailant.

The attacker, it seemed like an average office employee, fell onto his back but quickly corrected himself as he pushed off the ground and onto his feet again.

“Get to the phone, Dr. Lewis,” Jennifer said, her eyes pinned on the enemy.

“But,” Lauren whispered, finally getting her footing and pulling herself from the opened elevator doors.

“Now!” Jennifer yelled, deflecting the man's attack as he came at her. The top of her left forearm was on his bottom one, and her right hand was clenched into a fist as she brought it into the man's face.

Lauren jumped, but did as she was told. Running around the two fae, she quickly sprinted down the hallway and cut into the first door she could. Thankfully it was not locked, and she burst into the office without a second glance to her surroundings. All that mattered was getting to the phone.

The black telephone never looked more like a blessed savior, and Lauren quickly ran to it and let out a sigh of relief when she heard a dial tone. Thanking whatever god there was that it did not connect immediately to the assistant at the front office, and instead to the outside world, Lauren hurriedly dialed the number she memorized for months. It picked up on the second ring.

“Lauren? How is everything going?” Tamsin's cool voice poured over the phone and, in light of the situation, the human was happy to hear it.

“Tamsin- I'm in-” Just before Lauren could get out the words, a crash could be heard from somewhere away from the receiver. “Tamsin, what was that,” she asked.

“It is nothing. I'll be right there.”

Before Lauren could inquire on it further, the line suddenly went dead. A beat past as Lauren slowly brought the phone away from her ear and stared at it in horror. Had Tamsin just left her there to die? Was everything resembling the green eyed valkyrie been washed away? Before she could think of anything else, a bloodied hand clamped down on her shoulder and made her turn.

The doctor let out a panicked shout that left her throat raw.

+++

“Dr. Lewis, please do not scream. It is only me,” Jennifer said, her voice barely heard over Lauren's harsh intake of breath.

“Oh my god,” the doctor breathed, doing a once over of the red head.

“It is not my blood,” she said simply, looking down at her bloodied hand. “Did you connect to the Sovereign?”

“Yes, but she-”

Before Lauren could finish, Jennifer heard a whooshing sound behind them and before she turned, she felt her body being tugged into that of a portal. It was an unfamiliar sensation as it seemed to tug at her very soul, but before she knew it, the fae was standing inside of the Light fae throne room. She did not have time to look around as she felt the human fall to her knees and coughs began to wrack her body. Bending, Jennifer hooked a strong hand between Lauren's arms, with one on her back, and allowed her to finish her convulsion.

“Sovereign,” she said, looking up as Tamsin eyed them questioningly but turned away, “thank you for saving us.”

“What the hell is going on here?”

Jennifer looked further behind Tamsin, to the founder of the voice, and saw a voluptuous and deadly looking brunette standing in the doorway in which she appeared to have just come from. From all of her travels, she knew it was Bo the Unaligned Succubus. She had an impressive amount of weapons attached to her and she looked daggers at the valkyrie. She had two other allies and the former Ash at her side and Jennifer wondered how the sovereign had not known they had entered the building for they had gotten this far into the compound.

“Why do you come here?” Tamsin asked, a small smile playing at her lips with the anticipation of battle.

“I'm taking Lauren out of here,” the succubus replied.

“For what purpose?”

Bo actually looked taken aback. “I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, Tamsin and I get that you're not yourself, but I'm not going to let you hurt Lauren again.”

The valkyrie smiled. “You were not here when I taught her a lesson. Nor were you when she gave herself to me the night before.”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean you taught her-”

“She does not need your protection, succubus. She doesn't love you any longer. Lauren chooses to stay here.”

A meek voice, one plagued with pain, finally spoke in the echoing room, “Tamsin, please stop.”

Cold violet eyes turned to their prey and the valkyrie smiled wickedly. “Look at her, so strong, so human... but not for long.”

Just as Tamsin spoke, another portal- flashing blue, green, and gold- appeared in the room just beside the valkyrie and the young progeny stepped through. In her hand was held a syringe, and she coveted it as if it were her life on the line. Her brown hair, which Jennifer remembered had been washed and cleaned this morning, was in disarray and she looked as if she had been through war.

The grime on her face made the wound on her cheek from many battles ago stand out, and her gray eyes pierced Lauren's bent over form and back to Tamsin. Handing the woman the syringe, she backed off and came to squat next to Lauren and the elf.

“What is that, Tamsin?” The male asked, whom Jennifer remembered to be a detective of some kind.

“Lauren's salvation,” the valkyrie replied, her voice sounding as if she were in a dream that had been actualized.

“TamTam, just put it down,” the dark haired human almost yelled, her crossbow pointing directly towards Tamsin's heart.

“Would you like me to inject you as well, Kenzi? You could be fae; could be free.”

“You can't turn Lauren fae, Tamsin. Just listen to me.”

The valkyrie shook her head and turned back to Ætta. “Whose bone marrow is in this?”

“Does it matter, Commander? It is of a fae.”

“I don't want her turning into the likes of a coke addict with dark tendencies,” replied Tamsin sarcastically as she looked into Ætta's eyes.

“Tamsin,” Lauren interrupted before the young valkyrie could speak, “I will not turn fae. Please, just listen to me.”

“You will be like me, Lauren. You will be free. It's what you've always wanted.”

“Not like this,” the human whispered. “You'll cause a spontaneous mutation in my cells, baby. Please, just listen to me.”

“It is time.”

“Like hell it is,” Bo said aggressively as she took a step toward the couple. The raised sword had fallen to her side at the scene unfolding before her, and whether she had murder or protection shining in her eyes- Lauren could not tell.

“Halt,” Tamsin said, her eyes still pinned on Lauren, but her words pointed at the moving succubus.

Bo stopped immediately, her arm going to her side, her mouth falling in awe of some kind. Kenzi suddenly raised her crossbow, which she had slightly lowered in shock of Bo's incapacitated form, and fired a bolt at the valkyrie. Tamsin quickly dodged, a slight movement of the head and nothing more, and she glared back at the Gypsy Girl. Looking towards Dyson, she knew he could not reach her in time for her to pull out her Viking Sax or to compress the air around him to stop him from breathing and Hale, who was standing right beside him, knew as much as well. If he even tried to use his Siren whistle, it was goodbye Ex-Ash.

Lauren wanted to scream at her, to see if she were alright, to say anything, but a wave of nausea swept through her and she had to bend her head.

“Sovereign,” Jennifer spoke, “she will die if you do not do something. She does not wish to become fae, maybe-”

“Quiet, girl,” Ætta whispered, out of ear shot of the all powerful valkyrie.

Violet eyes trained on cobalt and her lips were brought into a grin. “Bring her to me, elf.”

The word was spoken with distaste, but Jennifer ignored it as she slowly brought Lauren to her feet. The human lolled her head onto the fae's shoulder, her body becoming weaker by the second. If Tamsin did not give her the mead of the Kingdom, she would soon die.

Giving her to the valkyrie, Jennifer whispered, “Maybe this is not the way, Sovereign.”

“I... appreciate your conscious, baby fae.” Tamsin smiled kindly as she kept Lauren in the crook of her left arm as her right lay to her side. “But you have failed me for the last time.”

“Sovereign?” Jennifer's voice was an octave too high. Her eyes darted to the valkyrie's side and back to her face.

“You have failed your charge and thus failed me. I will no longer need you.”

Tamsin was quick, quicker than even the elf, as she pulled out a wicked looking dagger, much older than any Jennifer herself had ever witnessed except from the first day the valkyrie had attacked the compound, from the sheath hanging horizontally from her belt. Without losing her grip on the human, Tamsin quickly thrust the blade into the elf's belly, slowly cutting upward, as if planning to stuff her like a Thanksgiving turkey, and in turn maximizing the damage done.

Jennifer's face turned from doubt and hesitation to pain and confusion. She had failed the Sovereign? What did that mean of her blood honor; her family? Her teacher's words rang in her mind as she felt herself falling. Falling, falling downward until she hit the stone flooring with a sickening thud.

“Oh my god. Oh my god, Tamsin!” Lauren whispered, the only thing she could reach as her throat became suddenly sore. “She was your ally!”

“And she failed me,” Tamsin said simply as she turned and sheathed her bloody weapon without even wiping it of it's reddened liquid. Taking the syringe from her left hand, she quickly deflected the minor attack of the teeth Lauren tried. “Now, you will become like me, doc.”

“Don't do it, Tamsin!” Bo screamed, her body visibly shuddering from the bind she was trying to break. She had to move, she had to stop the valkyrie! “I know you're in there somewhere and you have got to listen to me!”

Tamsin's left hand reached down and pulled up the human's shirt slowly. Her taught stomach was visible and the valkyrie could tell she was breathing heavily. She tried to squirm, tried to get out of the woman's grip, but all she managed to do was have the valkyrie's arm fall into the groove of her neck, effectively choking her. Lauren could not move for fear of further allowing the valkyrie to smother her into unconsciousness.

“Tamsin- Tamsin no!” Lauren screamed as she saw the syringe rise above the valkyrie's head. Her pupils dilated as she saw it, fear taking over her mind as she saw everything in slow motion.

The syringe swiftly came down, past the wicked grin, past the human's collarbone, and into the doctor's hipbone. Lauren couldn't help herself, even from the massive sore throat she was sporting, she screamed loud and hard from the pain exuding from her side. Once all of the burning liquid was inside of her, Lauren knew it was almost impossible to feel it moving in her bones and bloodstream, she felt suddenly different; even worse than before.

Tamsin dropped her harshly to the ground where the doctor, her hair falling in front of her face, began to spasm as pain wracked her body.

“T-Ta-” Lauren could not speak, she could not think, all she knew was pain. The valkyrie had not called for any anesthetic and Lauren was paying the price.

“You were right. Must- release. Time- go.”

“Commander-”

There were words shouted, spoken, a sudden bright light and two disappearing forms leaving the vicinity but they were muddy to Lauren's ears. Hands clamped around the doctor's shoulders, trying to hold her in place, moments after the glistening light, but the human barely registered it.

All Lauren Lewis saw were the dying eyes of the elf woman she had come to despise in less than a week’s time. The fae's eyes were vacant cobalt as she stared into the woman's soul, any light they once held dwindling rapidly. There was nothing Lauren could do for her, she knew, but that didn't stop her from watching, unblinking, as the fae died.

And Lauren couldn't help but comprehend, through her dizziness and pain, through her hatred and love; and through her thoughts of not being good enough for the purple eyed monster, that all the deaths from the past few days were all her fault.

The blame would never leave her hands, and that far outmatched the feverish pain that cascaded through her body in those moments. It would simply never go away as she delved further into oblivion of turning into a monster; just as her lover.


	6. Blood Oath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas for all those who do the Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! Eat lots of food for me, and have fun with the family you have. Hope you enjoy!

Kenzi hesitantly fired the bolt from her crossbow, with a small yell, toward her former drinking buddy's head. The Gypsy Girl lowered the weapon after receiving a deathly glare from the valkyrie, enough to make any normal person run away to the high heavens, after the woman dodged easily. It was strange as it was barely a movement at all, it was as if the valkyrie shook her head and the bolt whistled straight through the strands of her hair and borrowed into the stone column with a thud.

The girl watched as Tamsin grabbed Lauren after killing her only ally in the form of a red headed fae, and held the syringe over her head. Kenzi had enough mind to reach to her back, pulling out another bolt to ready her crossbow, hopefully being able to stop the valkyrie's actions and release the doctor.

Wide blue eyes followed Lauren's body as it fell to the ground, spasming uncontrollably. She scarcely heard her best friend screaming bloody murder at her former lover's convulsing form and the girl watched as whatever was holding the succubus in place crumbled around her as unbridled fury took her over.

“Tamsin,” Bo howled, swiftly taking a throwing dagger from her thigh sheath and letting it fly towards the valkyrie.

Purple eyes followed the blade with little care and raised her hand, much as she did in the same uncaring gesture she used earlier to stop the succubus in her tracks. The blade, just before reaching the valkyrie's palm, suddenly stopped and Tamsin smirked as she tried to find Bo's eyes.

Her victory was short lived for as she looked up to meet the succubus' eyes, said fae was smashing her fist hard into Tamsin's ribcage; having had immediately started moving to the Icelandic blonde upon throwing the dagger.

Kenzi watched as, sputtering, the valkyrie backed away, the throwing dagger falling to the ground just above Lauren's crumpled form, and put the back of her hand to her smiling lips.

“Clever succubus.”

“You'll see how clever I am, buddy,” Bo hissed, throwing down her sword, as she wouldn't be able to use it effectively in close quarter combat, and retrieving her signature dagger.

As she spoke, Dyson's form filled the bent over valkyrie's vision and grasped her arms tightly from behind as he moved around her. Hale, his face filled with concern and rage as he walked from the door- not quite being able to move as fast as his partner, let loose a powerful whistle the likes that could shatter glass.

Tamsin's face contorted in that of pain and she bent her knees in hopes of doubling over. Dyson held firm, his claws digging into flesh and small trickles of blood trailed down Tamsin's arms, and purple eyes opened to look daggers at the Ash. Suddenly, his whistle ceased, his eyes growing wide, as he brought a hand quickly to his throat as if he were choking.

“Hale,” Kenzi screamed, running to her lover and squeezing his shoulder as his knees hit the stone ground hard. There was no way she was going to lose him again. There was no way!

Tamsin's laugh was full of mirth and she immediately grasped Dyson's hands from her, and flipped the growling man over her body. Moving on Bo, the valkyrie never got that far as the Gypsy Girl let loose her second bolt from where she knelt.

The purple eyed monster dodged, this time by actually grabbing the arrow out of mid-air and throwing it down, a smile all the while playing on her lips, but it was all the time Bo needed.

Delicate, yet harsh, hands wrapped around Tamsin's neck- which held the wicked dagger, ready to tear out the woman's nape if she dared move- and upper arm as gold rippled across the valkyrie's form. A slight hazy glow flared in her purple eyes, showing the succubus that she was being consumed by erotic desire, but Bo didn't stop there. Moving her hand from the woman's arm, the brunette grabbed the back of the blonde's hair, and the succubus brought her in for a delicious kiss.

Eyes flaring blue, Bo consumed the valkyrie's powerful, and surprisingly yummy, essence with little care if she took all of it. Yes, she would stop once she knew enough had been taken to cause the valkyrie to fall unconscious, but her mind was on Lauren and how the human was still convulsing. Besides, she reasoned, death with a smile was far too good a fate for the purple eyed demon. She had to get the valkyrie incapacitated so she could see if Lauren was-

The succubus shook her head harshly as she felt her throat constrict suddenly. Her face turning to that of confusion, she looked back from Lauren toward the valkyrie. The valkyrie whom should have been half way to Timbuktu from the stream of essence Bo had already taken from her.

A wicked smile was on the woman's lips and her purple eyes were more vibrant than Bo had ever seen them; as if Tamsin was the one who had been feeding from the succubus, and not the other way around.

The chi, Bo's mind thought feverishly, it's the chi!

Before she could do anything about it, however, Tamsin's chi seemed to spike with unbridled energy as it poured into the succubus' mouth. Bo let out a yell, too slow to tear through the valkyrie's nape with her dagger, as she fell away from Tamsin's almost glowing form and to the ground. Her head cracked hard against the stone flooring, her eyes drooping as she watched Lauren's body move slightly every few seconds.

She heard her name called, maybe by Kenzi, but it was far away and groggy. Her vision blurred, sounds becoming muddy, and the last thing she witnessed was blurring yellow hair.

+++

Kenzi called her best friend's name as she ran to her side, unfazed by Tamsin's form only a few steps away. Not that the valkyrie gave her any mind as she looked back at her progeny.

“You were right,” Tamsin spoke to Ætta. “Lauren will not survive in such a world even after she changes. They must be released. She will have more of a chance.” Her eyes closed as she said, “It is time to go.”

“Commander, I am glad you have finally seen what I have been trying to show you.”

The Gypsy watched as both valkyries raised a hand collectively and a dark portal, that matched the one in intensity from the Dal but of nothing else, appeared before them.

“Tamsin!” Kenzi screamed, a last ditch effort to stop the valkyrie from whatever the woman thought needed to be released. The portal didn't seem like it was taking them to Disneyland and Kenzi was the only one that could think of stopping the two valkyries than all of the other semi conscious fae in the room.

The woman, her eyes dim, turned back around and looked into blue eyes. “Goodbye,” Tamsin whispered, disappearing from view as she stepped into the portal.

+++

Soles touched hard packed rock, that of which the young valkyrie had seemed to never have witnessed, and combat boots and converse planted firmly in the sharp edges. It seemed as if the entire ground they stood upon was jagged and cut, seemingly inhabitable of any life, plant, animal, or human alike. Gray peered across vast amounts of the dark shards, and she could see nothing else but soot and ash falling in front of her eyes. Looking at her own body, and that of her companion, she saw their skin enveloped in a red hue that of which she had never seen.

“Commander,” she whispered, looking up to her mentor, “what is this place?”

Purple eyes slowly looked back toward her pathetic progeny with contempt for her stupidity in her gaze. “You have never been to this plane?” When the young girl shook her head, the monster continued, “It is not as beautiful as others, is it.” It wasn't a question and her lips curled slowly into a smile. “Look above you.”

The young girl obeyed and slowly looked skyward, or what sky she could decipher. Her eyes grew wide as she glanced the sight in front of her; not because it was strange or otherworldly, but because sunken black holes stared back at her immediately upon witnessing them. Saliva hit just in front of her feet, dripping down from the blackened jaws that housed no teeth, only sharpened lips that held no form of what they once were. The spit burned into the darkened ground, making another sharp edge where none was prior as it melted, then settled into the earth. That's what it was, the girl thought, the burned and destroyed terrain was because of their uncontrollable acidic slobbering.

Dull black, green, red, and colors Ætta could not recall the name of marked these creatures of the netherworld. Their spindly arms reached for them, their faces contorted into that of pain and anger. They looked nothing of human, or any creature the young valkyrie had ever known. They were indeed unholy as they levitated just above the terrain, casting vast shadows across the ground as they marked the entire skyline. Their reddened and twisted eyes were the only things that gave light to the realm and the young girl wanted to turn away in horror from such a creature existing.

The putrid stink coming from the corpse-like aggressors were too much for the girl to bear, and she slowly covered her nose with the back of her hand.

“Their pain... their anger...” she whispered, looking back toward her mentor. Ætta was bending over slightly from the sheer force of the thing's emotions, and she wondered why Tamsin was not from the time spent in front of such creatures.

“It doesn't affect me,” Tamsin whispered, as if she was reading her subordinate's mind. “How do you think I lasted with the human for all these days. If I felt the pain stinking and coating her aura, I doubt I would have been able to walk.”

“I'm sure it was the perfect meal,” Ætta responded, her hand leaving her lips and looking back toward the unholy beings floating above them. “Now what?”

“Now,” Tamsin said, her lips crinkling into laughter, “we release them.”

The purple eyed monster slowly raised her hand into the air, seemingly uncaring that at any moment one of the Unholies could rain their acidic saliva down onto her appendage, and wind suddenly swirled around them. It was visibly white, and the girl quickly realized that there was no such movement of air currents but for the one that Tamsin was causing.

The Unholies disgusting mouths opened wide, the same red hue marking their eyes seeming to live in their belly, and their unison howl marked the air. The girl covered her ears and eyes, the sharp tones proving to be too much for her, but she opened them just as swiftly when she realized that the screeches stopped.

“Shit,” she whispered, witnessing what, and who, was standing in front of her mentor and herself.

Light blonde hair cascaded down slender yet strong shoulders marked by glistening armor. Her metal shoulder pads broke apart as they traveled down her arms, turning into beautiful fair skin, and the armor marking her chest was cut in the middle with straps of leather presumably holding the twisted metal together. The conjoining chest piece suddenly stopped just before reaching the heroic looking belt that trailed down her hipbones. Greaves marked her shins and her delicate feet were covered by likewise metal armor, the tops of the shoes housing wings that spanned up into her greaves. Her head was adorned with a helm in which, yet again, wings spanned upwards from and the rest of her hair, which was tied firmly at the bottom with a woven band, swirled around her as she looked daggers at the two valkyries in front of her.

“Þrúðr,” the young valkyrie laughed, “what are you doing here, sister?”

Daughter of Thor, son of All-Father, looked toward the young valkyrie with cold and beautiful crystal eyes. She regarded her little, as if she were not worth her time, and looked back into purple eyes. “You will travel to Fólkvangr, sister, for your mother wishes to exact judgment upon you.”

“We will travel to Valhalla,” Tamsin responded nonchalantly, her face grim. “You have failed our preparations here. I'm sure father knows what we are trying to accomplish now.”

“Concede,” replied Þrúðr, her eyes scanning the adjacent valkyrie's.

“She is older, commander,” a whispered warning from Ætta reaching Tamsin's ears, as she looked up towards her mentor.

Before Tamsin had anything to respond with, however, the older valkyrie had already lifted her hand towards the pair, and the air pressure suddenly changed around them. Þrúðr successfully sweeping them into Asgard, into the hall of Sessrúmnir for the purple eyed monster's judgment.

+++

Dyson had run over to a crumpled Lauren before the portal had enough time to close. Hale was to Bo's side, for the succubus had not lifted an eye since the disappearance of the valkyries, and he was trying to accommodate the brunette's sudden twitching.

Feeling the head of the unconscious human, Dyson opened one eye and looked into the dilating pupils. Her brain functions still worked, he decided, and he said Lauren's name softly. When she did not respond however, the detective lightly slapped her face and called her name again.

“She's not waking up,” he said, as Kenzi came over after checking on Bo.

“It's the same with Bo,” the girl said hurriedly. Her eyes were wide from what could have happened to her best friend, and Dyson understood how she felt completely. How it felt to feel totally and utterly alone. “What's going to happen to the doc,” Kenzi asked, her eyes fixing on Lauren's sweating and unmoving form.

“If it's anything like Taft's,” Dyson responded, “the change will be almost instant.”

“But this isn't like Taft,” replied Kenzi. “Bo said he was acting weird but he was still up and running.”

“I know! This doesn't make sense. She's burning up.”

“I don't want to rain on your parades over there,” Hale called from a few feet away. “But if we don't get these girls to a hospital, I don't think Bo will last. Tamsin did a real number on her.”

“What about her,” Kenzi asked, jutting a chin toward the no longer bleeding elf- those contents were already on the floor.

“She's gone,” Dyson confirmed.

“Dead,” Kenzi echoed.

There was a solemn silence between the trio and it was only broken by the sudden scratchy cough emitting from Lauren's throat.

“Doc!” Kenzi exclaimed, her hands flying to the doctor's shoulders.

The human simply began to shudder again, a shiny coat of sweat marking her skin.

“She's in some kind of coma,” Dyson remarked, looking down and squeezing the doctor's shoulder.

“How do we save her? How do we save them both?” Kenzi's eyes turned behind her to look at her best friend, and back to her newly adorned friend.

“I don't know,” Dyson said, his eyes closing as the weight of realization descending upon him. “I just don't know.”

+++

Metal and wood conjoined together as if they were one, vast columns, and shuddering force of cascading warrior's aura's wound around the two collared valkyries as they walked through the beautiful halls of Fólkvangr. The strong valkyrie Þrúðr's hand was adjacent to her shoulder, her forefinger and thumb pushed together, as the invisible string connecting to the two valkyrie's necks hung loosely in the air between them. The string was durable, unyielding, Tamsin knew, which is the only reason the purple eyed monster had not tried to break free already and covered the sacred halls with blood.

The young valkyrie's nostrils flared as she smelt the rich food of the Kingdom, and her mouth watered slightly as she was led further and deeper into the hall. She could hear mead and wonderful drinks pouring from pig skin and hollowed horns, and she understood completely what she had been missing by living on the earthen plane for so long. A tear would have struck her cheeks, but she calmed her erratic beating heart with slow breaths, and looked ahead with a purpose in mind.

The bridge in which they passed in the beginning of their voyage here, the Bifröst, did nothing for Tamsin's mood, and her eyes burned holes into the holy dead warriors in the hall. Their adorned bodies, with armor marking all periods of time, and spears and battle-shields moved through the hall with little purpose. Their lives meant little until the final battle, and the purple eyed monster wanted to tear all of their ethereal bodies apart.

The trio slowly reached the main hall of Sessrúmnir and Tamsin would have stopped suddenly if not for the string collaring herself to the older and stronger valkyrie.

A sweet honey voice, that of which could only belong to the green eyed valkyrie, resounded through the room in which they walked into. It sounded as if she were saying the end of a very funny joke as an equal honey, and languid, laugh cut into the joke before it was finished.

“-Because they're cheaper than day rates!”

Rowdy laughter from the same source resounded through the hall, and the purple eyed monster wanted to tear someone's throat from their larynx. It wasn't even that funny, she thought bitterly, as her eyes slowly descended on her body's true soul as it lounged in a plush throne chair next to the ruler of the realm. It was the woman who was laughing, her fingers to her lips as she tried to cover her hysterics from the rest of her hall, and her eyes crinkled with amusement.

Þrúðr stopped as her feet were almost to the throne chairs, and her fingers untightened and fell to her side. Her right arm was to her knee in one smooth gesture, as she quickly knelt to her Queen.

“Rise, dear valkyrie,” the woman said, her sultry and smooth voice resounding through the halls once more. “Thank you for completing your mission.”

The valkyrie shook her head. “Thank you, my lady, for issuing it to me.”

The woman nodded, her lips turning up into a smile as she raised her hand to allow the valkyrie permission to rise. Her raven hair swept into her face as she adjusted herself, and she looked toward the green eyed valkyrie sitting beside her.

Naturally beautiful pink lips moved to form syllables towards her daughter, “Sweet daughter, your shell is here.”

“I can see that, mom,” Tamsin replied, her legs swooping over the chair's arm and stomping down onto the stone ground. Arms went to knees as she bent over as if it was the most common thing in the world to see her body standing before her. If it was to get closer to the grape bowl sitting on a pedestal before her, the purple eyed valkyrie didn't know.

“What are you doing in this hell?”

“Good ol' mom got me from Valhalla,” the real valkyrie said to her shell with amusement. “I mean can you imagine staying with dad all this time? Boooring,” Tamsin sang as her delicate fingers flung a grape into her mouth.

A snarl, “How are you here?”

“My consciousness had to go somewhere. Couldn't very well stay inside that brain of yours could I.”

“When did you leave?”

“I was never there to begin with,” Tamsin sighed. “I have been watching your engagements from here. Not that I should be telling you this. Sorry, mom,” the valkyrie smiled and shrugged as she turned towards the ruler of the hall.

“You have every right to tell your valkyrie whatever you like,” Freyja remarked, her voice like silk.

Jutting a thumb toward the woman, Tamsin said, “She's so understanding. Much cooler than dad.”

“I have turned the human into fae,” the purpled eyed valkyrie almost yelled. Her victorious smirk was wiped from her face as Tamsin smiled wickedly back.

“I know you did. How did you know that wasn't my plan from the beginning?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Tamsin said, standing and stretching- her muscles straining against her light dress attire- “from the beginning I wanted Lauren to live as long as me. Be able to protect herself. How do you know that wasn't my plan from the beginning?”

“You care too much to do such a thing to her.”

A nod from Tamsin allowed the valkyrie to smirk again. “And for that, I'm truly sorry. Now,” she said, clapping her hands together and looking at both of the valkyrie's in question, “time for your judgment!”

“You can do nothing to me,” the valkyrie responded, looking up into green eyes, “without killing yourself.”

“Didn't you remember anything I told you when I came to you in the mirror? We all gotta die someday.”

“You will go through the trial all valkyries who belong to me must,” Freyja said, her hazel eyes piercing the prisoners.

“Fight to the death,” Ætta inquired, her eyes growing wide. She knew she would not win against her mentor even if she tried. It was a true death sentence.

The goddess shook her head furiously. “That is the law slated by Odin in _his_ hall. I would think a valkyrie such as you would remember _my_ ruling.”

“What is it?” It was almost a plea.

Freyja's sultry voice spoke with a smile, “The shell must battle myself.”

+++

As the purple eyed valkyrie's pupils dilated, she slowly took a step back as her goddess arose from her throne. She wouldn't have said anything, only taking her goddess' words as a simple jest, but then the beautiful armor marking only the gods appeared around her form. Only then did the valkyrie take another step back at the sheer force that was exuded across the hall.

Gold and bronze armor marked every part of her body, stopping just above the woman's knees. Chain mail spanned from her chest and it was slightly hidden by the brilliant dark blue and green sash that ran from her left shoulder down to her right knee. A battle-shield was secured onto her left arm, the blade peaking from behind the shield where it was sheathed on the golden plate, and a spear adorned with beads and feathers was in Freyja's right hand. It was the holiest of all armor, only worn on special occasion or dinner meetings with the other gods, and Tamsin knew exactly why she had adorned her features with it.

Freyja's hazel eyes peered around her vast hall, soaking in some of the warriors and valkyrie's faces as her armor appeared, and quickly they grew dim. “We must find a more appropriate place to battle than this hall, dear valkyrie.”

With that the goddess raised her spear high above her head, as if she was calling down thunder, and the butt of her spear pierced the stone ground, along with it, a blast of energy burst from the wooden shaft.

Suddenly both duelist were transported into a meadow spanning as far as the eye could see. If the purple eyed monster looked around, she was see the holy dead covering the hill side with their copious numbers. If she looked to her right, she would see the real Tamsin and Ætta standing side by side, one's arms crossed while they other ringed them slowly.

The dim sky, filled with clouds and little sun rays rained over Tamsin's battle-shield and spear as it appeared before her. No doubt Freyja allowing her to wield them as her eyes smiled where her lips did not. Her clothes, which were a simple pair of blue jeans that were marked with blood and a light shirt, turned into battle armor not of her choice. It was heavy, but durable, and she wondered why her goddess would give her such protection if all she wanted to do was kill her anyways.

Her thoughts were quickly dashed as she overheard the two beside her talking among themselves.

“So does she know yet?”

The girl sounded annoyed, “Know what?”

“You know...” Tamsin nudged the younger girl as she said it and smiled.

“If you're trying to imply something, come out and say it.”

The real Tamsin chuckled. “So much for treating me like your commander. You'll get yours in time.”

Purple eyes snapped to hazel, her mind on the upcoming battle and nothing else, as Freyja pulled her bronze and gold helmet from her head with ease. Her raven hair slightly brushed in front of her in strands as the slight wind picked up and stayed among them, moving the streams of grass of the meadow with each gust.

“This is more appropriate,” Freyja said, her eyes spanning the field. “This is where many proud valkyries who have broken my law stand in their final battle against myself.”

“I do not care for the blood that has been shed here. It is your blood that will be spilt this day.”

Tamsin lifted her spear high towards Freyja, moving into a battle stance as she put her right foot forward and dug it into the ground, initiating the start of the duel.

“Let us begin, child.”

The purple eyed valkyrie didn't even see her move. One moment, Freyja was in front of her with her spear pointed towards her in the honor before the duel began. The next, the woman had completely disappeared, the only show of her form standing in the meadow from the grass that had been slightly spread.

Turning suddenly, spear in hand, Tamsin deflected Freyja's blow that came from high above, as if the goddess had flown high into the air and had come down with such force that Tamsin's feet thudded into the earth. Freyja swiftly cut back as Tamsin swung her spear-arm outward, almost nicking the goddess' cheek, and the valkyrie placed the spear's shaft on the shield as she began to thrust sharply.

Freyja deflected easily with her own spear, knocking the thrusts away as if they were nothing. She moved back in the field with beautiful strides, slow and languid as if she was not perturbed in the least by the valkyrie's counter attack, and suddenly she stopped as she bent down to squat. Tamsin was taken off guard by this, and Freyja swiftly moved her spear to be pointed toward the sky and away from her, and thrust upward to connect with Tamsin's jaw.

Letting out a whoosh of air, Tamsin dodged quickly, her shield coming up and knocking the opponent's spear skyward, and she thrust her spear into the woman's belly. Freyja dodged again, simply turning her own body so that her side would be adjacent to Tamsin's, and missing the spear by mere inches, and she smiled as Tamsin's eyes grew wide at the languid movement.

Freyja's spear was by her side, which could have been firmly planted in Tamsin's, and she said, “As a valkyrie, you are doing your duty. But you are condemning your shell to death. Stop this foolishness, child.”

Tamsin responded with the action of turning and moving in close to her goddess and planting the spear between her body and her shield. With a sudden thrust, Freyja's spear was broken and the sharpened hilt and splintered wood rained down onto the grass. Stepping back, the goddess looked up to the broken wood, and her hazel eyes moved down to purple ones. Flicking her hand, her spear was thrown into the ground, and she moved her fingers to look as if they were pinching something. Suddenly, Tamsin's spear broke apart in her hand, and if she had not let it go when she did, a sharp gash would have been cut into her fair skin.

Forming a curse in her throat, the purple eyed monster drew her sword from her shield and danced with contempt in her footing. Freyja responded by pulling out her own weapon and she slowly placed her shield in front of her as her sword arm was raised above her slightly, pointing at Tamsin.

The valkyrie was the first to move, her sword arm raging down onto her goddess' shield hard. An attack that would have normally made the most hardened man grunt with effort did nothing for the goddess and Freyja simply planted her right foot behind her. Pushing off quickly, Freyja's right hand swung with precise movement toward Tamsin's belly, and it was all the valkyrie could do to dodge with her movements backward.

“The crowd is cheering us on. But for who do the cries cheer for?” Freyja asked, her voice seeming completely devoid of hard breathing from the labor of battle.

Tamsin replied by running toward the goddess and smashing her shield into her opponent's. Raising her sword above them both, she let out a wild thrust, that would have connected with the woman's neck, but Freyja dodged and twirled around the valkyrie. Tamsin cut forward, just before the sword swung and would strike her back, and she turned sharply to face her opponent again.

Purple eyes glared into hazel, and she looked towards her progeny and her shell. The green eyed bitch stared back and winked, her lips curling into a smile as if this were the funniest thing on the planet. The valkyrie wanted to scream back that if she died, so did the green eyed one. Before she could, however, Freyja moved out of the corner of her eye and her attention was immediately back on the woman.

“You should not stray from the battle,” Freyja said, her sword connecting with the valkyrie's. “True power does not come from such a feat.”

Tamsin was suddenly gone, bending as the goddess had done at the beginning of the duel, and shocked Freyja into silence.

“You talk too much!” Tamsin screamed, coming up just behind the goddess and tried to attack her backside.

The victorious grin that marked the valkyrie's face was quickly wiped off as her sword clashed with hard metal instead of soft flesh. Freyja had reached behind her, responding quickly to the surprise attack, and raven hair turned while hazel eyes rained over purple. Suddenly Tamsin was being thrown away with a burst of energy as the goddess unleashed her true power.

“How dare you speak to me in such a way when I am trying to assist you! I am your goddess. I am your mother. I will show you true power then.”

A sudden burst of wind ripped through the meadow and purple eyes squinted shut as she tried to shield her eyes, but still keeping Freyja in her vision.

“Time to run,” the green eyed valkyrie said, a smirk masking her voice. “Not even the holy dead are cheering anymore.”

“You seem too happy about that,” Ætta said as she looked toward the battlefield.

They were completely untouched by the wind that was gusting toward the purple eyed valkyrie, and running Freyja's hair over her shoulders as she watched the valkyrie blunder about.

“You'll die too,” the young valkyrie said.

“I already told her,” Tamsin shrugged jutting her chin toward the purple eyed valkyrie, “I'm totally okay with that.

The purple eyed valkyrie's mind was swept from the dialogue when a sudden stream of wind hit her left side harder than any natural occurrence. Hitting her shield with a thud, the valkyrie grunted with the force, her right leg planting firmly in the earth, her sword pointing downward as her fist added extra weight to counterbalance the shield.

Just as the valkyrie had gotten enough leverage against the wind, hard knuckles dug into her ribs on her right side, and her body was flying across the meadow, her body thudding off of the ground as it broke apart with each thud.

Her shield brushed into the ground, slowing her down enough so that she could stand upright, and just as she found her footing, Tamsin bolted toward her goddess with weapon tightened in hand. Just as she reached the woman, Freyja disappeared just as she did in the beginning of the duel, and Tamsin stopped dead in her tracks.

Letting out a grunt, the valkyrie quickly ducked as she felt the air displace behind her, and she twirled around, seeing the body of her goddess in front of her. She had her! Swiftly bringing up her weapon that trailed behind her, the added momentum allowed her blade to be swung ten times faster and right into Freyja's belly.

That was, however, until the woman wasn't standing in front of her any longer.

“You coward!” Purple eyed screamed, her weapon raising above her head as she cried.

The valkyrie turned slowly as she heard the a rumbling like earth shattering behind her. Purple eyes grew wide as she saw a large, jagged, piece of rock that was slowly rising from the ground in which it was torn from. As she witnessed it, it rose higher into the sky, small pebbles running off of it with each inch in the air, and slowly it stopped. Holding gently where it floated, the valkyrie's eyes widened as it suddenly it was hurdling toward her at incredible speed.

“Shit, mom,” Tamsin whispered as she watched the duel.

Moving fast, the purple eyed valkyrie clutched her sword in hand, and released her shield, letting it fall into the ground with a thud. She needed the speed. Huffing out a breath, the valkyrie didn't have the courage to look upward for fear of her resolve breaking and she would stop in fear. Her leg's pumped hard as she ran, trying to get out of range of the falling-with-purpose rock.

Her air rushed out of her chest as she felt the crash behind her. Her body lept up, her feet completely leaving the ground, with the force of the weapon. When they connected with the ground, however, the valkyrie lost her footing immediately as she had been moving too fast before, and she curled up her body as she felt her shoulder skid into the ground, making her turn and turn until she stopped dead.

The valkyrie realized her sword was not in hand when she flexed her arm, seeing if she was still in combat form, and she quickly did an assess over her own body. Nothing was broken, fae genetics and all, and she would have sat up if not for the wicked blade of her goddess pressing hard into her throat. Raven hair cascaded down sharp features as hazel eyes stared into purple.

“If you're going to do something,” Tamsin said, her eyes turning toward the younger valkyrie, “even if it's to save your own ass. You might want to do it now.”

Ætta looked up toward her mentor, her true mentor, with questions in her eyes, probably about how Tamsin knew what she had been planning, but asked none of them as she reached into her pocket quickly.

Pulling out the blackened amulet, that of which she stole from the vaults of the Light Fae compound, she held it above her head slowly and swiftly said, “Guðunum Ég bið, senda okkur til öryggis! Valhalla mér!”

Blue, green, yellow, and purple swirled around the young girl as quickly as if she said the words on fast forward. Looking toward her mentor, she saw the valkyrie's purple eyes widened in shock as she felt her body melting into that of the portal. Freyja twirled around, her hazel eyes eyeing the girl deathly, her swrod still pointing toward the spot the valkyrie was in moments before, and before the goddess could say a word, even stop her, Ætta walked into the portal that was in front of her.

+++

A hard fist wound into the young valkyrie's shirt and pushed her into the hard column of the hall of Valhalla.

“What the hell do you think you were doing?”

“Trying.. to save you, Commander.”

A hard slap came to the valkyrie and the mentor barked, “I did not ask nor want your protection! You filthy-”

“This is not helping us release the Unholies!” Ætta ground out, her hand going up to the fist in her shirt.

“Daughter,” an echoing voice shot from above the hall in which they stood, “it is a pleasant surprise to see you here!”

Purples eyes turned into brown and she allowed the valkyrie girl to fall back toward the ground, as she had been lifting her steadily.

“Father, you will allow us to unleash the Unholies upon the earth.”

“Will I, dear daughter.”

“Yes,” the valkyrie spoke definitely.

“What does your little companion think?”

Tamsin turned her head toward the fallen valkyrie and shook her head. “She is nothing.”

“So you have forgotten. It is apparent. May I release your memories?”

“If you touch me-”

“Who said anything about touch?”

A grin grew on the old man's face and his fingers raised above him from his throne. Before the valkyrie could do anything, she was thrust into her memories of war and sacrifice.

+++

_Crying, bloody and broken, the young valkyrie slowly walked through the dead city. If she looked at it in another manner, she would decide she was fully gorged on the pain and death cascading through the city. But no, not this day._

_Her right cheek burned where a man's blade had slashed it, and blood streamed down from the wound. It quickly coagulated, stopping it's trek down her cheek, but her wound was healing slowly._

_The commander. Where was the commander? She had said that she would be there when the girl needed her. That she would find her again in the city. But she was nowhere to be found. She left her there alone!_

_Whimpering, crawling along the ground, Ætta made her way through the city streets and back allies. She needed to get out of there. She needed to get to safety. She had ran away when her allies attacked and killed the enemy in their pretty little palaces and Boudicca's, and her children's, honor was restored and her revenge sated. She had ran from her duty and of her kinswoman who had not found her, but the girl knew Tamsin was most likely capturing the noble dead souls that were littering the streets._

_She passed all of them on her way out of town. She heard their whimpered cries, their souls bleeding for help, but she gave them none. A powerful valkyrie as herself, turned her ears away from the cries of the dead. How she had overridden her valkyrie nature, she did not know, but she didn't care in that moment. All she wanted, all she needed, was to get out of the dead city!_

_“_ _Where are you going, child?”_

_Ætta stopped dead, her gray eyes wide, as she turned slowly behind her to where the voice came from. Crumpled in on himself, solemn and still, the old wizened man stared back into gray eyes as he hunched over onto his gnarled wooden walking stick._

_“_ _I-I have to get out of here,” the girl responded._

_“_ _What of all the honorable dead souls you have been leaving?”_

_The girl looked around and shook her head. “I can't. I-I have to get out.”_

_“_ _You forsake your valkyrie duty?”_

_“_ _I... I can't do this. Tamsin trained me the best she could, okay. But-but I can't.”_

_The old man seemed to ponder this as best he could. His own daughter had failed him, had failed training a new valkyrie, and he, great All-Father Odin, was the laughing stock of Asgard. His anger burned deep in his belly at this valkyrie girl treating him and his daughter as if they were nothing. He would show her nothing._

_“_ _I strip you of your rank,” he said, coming in close and clutching the girl's armor in his fist. Tearing it off swiftly he said, “I strip you of your powers!” The wooden staff raised from the ground and thrust into the stone steps as he spoke, and suddenly the weight on Ætta's back felt lighter, and pain struck her nerves as she felt her wings cut from her. “You are to live a human life, forever pained by those who are damned, and you will live until I choose for you to die. Never will you see the grand halls of Asgard. Never shall you sit in the holy glory of your sisters.”_

_“_ _All-Father, please!” Ætta cried, but she could not stop her god._

_“_ _You will be forever spindly, forever sick, unworthy of the title valkyrja.”_

_“_ _I simply do not wish to fight!” she cried._

_A sudden sweet voice rose from the carcass of the city streets, “Ætta! Girl, where are you?”_

_“_ _Lady Tamsin, I am here!”_

_Brown orbs flicked to gray, and suddenly the girl's throat was restricted. “You shall never know my daughter again, unholy beast.”_

_“_ _No!” she screamed, her body suddenly becoming light as her divinity was taken from her. Her fair skin dimmed in light, her hair turned a darker hue of brown, her eyes turning a deeper gray. Before she could do anything else, her body was flung away from Odin, his form never changing or moving, and she had gotten her wish._

_Opening her eyes slowly after her body skidded upon the brush covered ground, she realized she had gotten her wish. She was far outside of the city, her orbs only seeing the tallest tower that was built inside, and her eyes watered with unshed tears._

_“_ _Please,” she whispered, her arms going around herself as she was suddenly cold, “I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Please.”_

_Cradling herself from the cold of the afternoon day, the young valkyrie wept into her arms as she realized her mistake. And she knew, deep down in her heart, she would know of her mistake deep and grueling for the days to come._

+++

“Was that supposed to make me care?” Tamsin inquired, her eyes turning to her progeny after the memory washed from her vision.

The girl's eyes were watery, as if she was holding back tears, and her gray eyes looked on into purple as if Tamsin were high. “You must unleash the Unholies upon the earth.”

“Why do you care?” It wasn't that Tamsin was insanely curious, she reasoned with herself, but she did like to know what the girl's plan was from the beginning. Was this the thing the real Tamsin had warned her about?”

“I'm one of the Disonarables. If I were to die by another hands when all the others were let loose upon the earth, there would be no way Odin could mitigate the damage on who gets a free ride into Valhalla and who doesn't. I would just... slip through.”

“You do not belong here,” Tamsin said matter of factly. “You betrayed everything you were as a valkyrie. You have lived almost as long as I have, and you have not come to that conclusion? You simply think yourself in need of some type of retribution? How quaint.”

“You _must_ release the Unholies,” the girl reiterated, her temper flaring but held back just out of reach.

“I unleash the Unholies because it will further keep Lauren safe. I do nothing for you.”

Ætta shook her head. “You do not even believe that yourself! The only reason you even thank of it was because of me. It would not save her! It would kill her! Siphon Odin's power or I will!”

Tamsin was slamming the girl into the column for a second time that day. “How dare you speak to me like-”

The valkyrie stopped. Her eyes growing wide for a moment until she looked down onto Ætta's lips. Her own were parted in an “awe” like state and her hands were still in fists in the young girl's shirt. Her hair, which had been held back with the tight woven band at the end of her hair as the older valkyrie's, cascaded in front of her face in strands as they rained down her face.

Her ears picked up a slight tapping, maybe dripping, coming from below her and she tried to comprehend what had just happened. Slowly looking downward, down and down and down, Tamsin's purple eyes witnessed what had made her react in such a way.

A Viking Sax, one of the best short reaching weapons of the era, stuck deep into the valkyrie's upper stomach. Dark red blood cascaded out of her, coating the weapon with the liquid, and Tamsin's mouth moved in the silent syllables of the person she was supposed to hold dear.

Her own momentum slid herself from the weapon, added with the sudden jerk from the young valkyrie's hand, and she felt herself falling onto the ground with a squelching thud. Looking up slowly, she saw the young girl glaring at her, wiping her soiled blade onto her dark shirt, and she looked up to where the great Odin was sitting.

“Now you will give me what I want.”

Before Tamsin could hear what was said next, her mouth formed the syllables again, this time as audiable as the Fourth of July festival.

“Lauren...”

+++

Brown eyes opened suddenly, startling the detective so much so that he released her. Standing up, her eyes closing slightly, Lauren rose from the ground with little care in the world.

“L-Lauren?” Kenzi asked, her voice breaking slightly as she witnessed the doctor rising.

“You should close your eyes,” Lauren responded, her dark blonde hair suddenly whirling around her head as if it were a halo. A sudden wind picked up and a bright light invaded the trio's vision.

No, not just bright light, a searing burn that broke forth from the doctor. From Lauren!

“What's happening?” Hale yelled, his body covering Bo's as the wind ripped through the room.

“Lauren!” Dyson screamed, trying to peek from behind his hands what was suddenly happening to the doctor.

A scream erupted from the doctor's throat, a painful yell that broke through everyone's resolve and they had to turn fully away from the woman as the light burned brighter. The air stank of fire, no, not just the air, Dyson decided, Lauren. The human's body seemed to heighten, her body turning to that of pure light, her hair flying in front of her as if it were alive. Her eyes could not bee seen, the only thing Dyson could make out as he turned slightly to witness the new being in front of them, was six beautiful ethereal wings cascading from the back of the human- no, no longer human, the fae and if the wolf shifter looked hard enough, he could see see-through heads, three of them pointing in every cardinal direction.

Her lower wings were covering her golden feet, the upper covering her eyes. She was hovering above the ground, slowly beating her middle wings as her head was pointed toward the ceiling.

The golden sheen that her body took, that of which the trio had never seen, glided over her body and made her clothing and skin transparent and completely indistinguishable between each other.

“Lauren!” Dyson screamed again, him being the only one who could withstand the sudden heat that cascaded through the room on the tailcoats of the gusts of wind.

A sigh rippled through Lauren and her magnificent wings, and three too many heads, disappeared slowly, the burning sensation running through the room seeming to diminishing with it. The gusts of wind slowly decreased, and Lauren, the so human Lauren, slowly lowered back onto the ground.

Dyson saw her shoes had been burned away, her clothing singed in a few places on her person, and her hair was sitting around her face as it always did. She looked magnificent as she looked back to the trio finally, her brown orbs seeming to be older than they really were. Her body did not jerk as that of Taft's, but she did seem to not understand her ability, whatever ability she had now.

Walking over slowly, passing by a shocked Dyson and Kenzi, Lauren stopped at Hale and looked down toward her once lover. Bending, the doctor reached out a hand to Bo's twitching form, and rested her fingers on her forehead as she trailed them down her angular face. Smiling slightly, the doctor slowly bent down, brushing her lips to that of the succubus'.

Heat washed over Bo's form, Hale could feel it cascading from Lauren's form, and he watched as the doctor's burning aura filled the succubus' mouth with energy. Just as Lauren disconnected from her, Bo immediately bolted upright, her hand to her chest.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, looking up to Lauren. “Oh my god, the heat. What-”

“Come, we must go,” Lauren interrupted.

Turning suddenly from the group, looking down to the dead elf on her way, she moved to the place the last portal that Tamsin had created stood.

“Lauren, what-”

Dyson was now cut off as Lauren waved a hand, and a portal that was completely opposite of the darkened one Kenzi had witnessed, this one of swirling blues and greens, filled the room with color and a crackling sound of oncoming thunder.

“Come,” Lauren said as she slowly turned to them, her head inclining to the portal and with that she stepped inside.

The rest of the gang looked at each other slowly, so many questions on their minds and tongues, but they followed the lead of the newly ordained fae and walked slowly to the portal. One by one stepping through, hoping beyond hope, that Lauren would once again turn human.

+++

**“** **Guðunum Ég bið, senda okkur til öryggis! Valhalla mér!” is Icelandic for “To the gods I beg, send us to safety! Valhalla to me.”**


	7. Blood Bargain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tamsin was dead dead. Like OJ Simpson and Tupac dead, she thought as her cheek pressed harder into the pillow.

 A clash and ting of metal, pure and unsullied, rang through the air of the large hall. Brilliant white teeth, along with golden locks of bright yellow hair, trailed behind the woman as she swooped her weapon low to attack her opponent. The assailant defending and attacking her, a likewise blonde woman with glowing blue eyes, smiled at the ferocity in her friend's eyes.

Before either one could say a word, they separated, flying backwards at lightning speed only to launch at each other with the same result. They both had razor sharp weapons and neither was afraid of the conclusion those powerful appliances would bring them. Blue Eyes with two ornate daggers, their twisted metal appearing as a dragon howling in fury, in her hands moved gracefully backwards, kicking up dust in her wake. She was happy that she was able to choose a natural element that coated the ground of the hall, and she raised her dueled weapons in preparation for another attack.

Her opponent had a sharp black sword at her disposal, unlike the crafted elegant design of her foe, and the simplicity yet sheen of the weapon did not go unnoticed by the crowd at hand. The hilt, which was likewise black with lines of blood red color, fitted perfectly in her palm and the off-white fur just above it tickled her hand. The pendant reaching out of the hilt made a switching noise as she also moved backwards, making sure to keep an eye on her comrade. She wondered when the older valkyrie had gotten so good at blocking such renown, and spontaneous, attacks and when she had found it in herself to fight dirty. She would have made some quip about the dust kicking, but she was suddenly on guard again as the older valkyrie swiftly moved toward her; zigzagging so that the younger woman could not pinpoint the range of the attack, or where it would come from in finality.

A gasp escaped Golden Locks as her opponent disappeared in front of her, and if not for her own valkyrie abilities, she would be skewered by the daggers that cut from behind her. Moving the elegant sword to her back, the woman quickly blocked Blue Eyes easily, much as she remembered witnessing from the battle only a few hours prior. Not that time moved much in this realm, Golden Locks thought as she disengaged her battle pose and sheathed her sword, it giving a satisfying sound as it hit the sheath, as she gave her opponent a large grin. Coming up to the woman and putting a slight hand on the valkyrie's shoulder received her her own smile of approval and a nod of respect.

“I would have imagined you being rusty from so many years on the Earthen plane, Lady Tamsin,” Þrúðr remarked, as she sheathed her daggers into her belt, barely acknowledging the claps and rowdy laughter of the on-goers whom saw the duel.

Tamsin shrugged, “I could have gotten you many times over, sister. Just didn't want to sully your winning streak.”

Þrúðr laughed as Tamsin winked at her, dispelling the thoughts of insult from the older valkyrie's mind. The woman patted Daughter of the Valkyrja on the back as she turned from her, looking upon the floor. Placing a hand, palm splayed, toward the ground brought up a sudden cascade of wind erupting inside of the great hall. The dust that had been conjured there using the ever so dandy portal was swept away, through the thrones top windows, and soon the hall became glistening and calm again.

“You are getting better at that, sister.”

“If only I could keep it when I get back to the Earthen plane,” replied Tamsin, looking at her palm and the untold power it held. Her rejuvenation and powers that had come to her from the realm and of being a spirit in it was doing her good.

Þrúðr shrugged as she picked up her discarded helmet, wiping it off from the dust that still permeated the shining metal she said, “The blessed wind still bides by our rule, Lady Tamsin, even on the Earthen plane.” There was a pause before the elder valkyrie whispered, “Why do you hold fallacy in your mind of returning, sister?”

Tamsin slowly turned to her friend and looked into her eyes for a moment. Mulling over the possibilities of each answer, whether to lie or simply smile, she did not know. Choosing, the younger valkyrie smacked the arm of her friend playfully as she smirked. “Come, mother will be wondering where we are.”

“You should wish to change before we proceed, Lady Tamsin,” Þrúðr replied as she looked the disheveled valkyrie up and down. “Your mother would remark upon your torn clothes and bedraggled form. I will not be to blame, this time, when she asks.”

“ Aw come on,” Tamsin whined, her hand running through the right side of her hair, “a girl's gotta have some fun. She'll get that, right?” The incredulous look in the elder valkyrie's eyes told the Icelandic blonde the answer and she whispered, “Ah,” before turning and walking away from the adjacent hall her mother's throne room was housed in and through the slight crowd which had formed due to the valkyrie's duel.

“When shall I tell your mother to expect you?” Þrúðr called to her friend.

Tamsin waved a hand, two fingers pointing toward the ceiling, as she said without turning her head, “Make up something for me!”

“It is a banquet in your honor, Lady Tamsin,” her friend called back.

“There's nothing to celebrate just because I've come back momentarily!”

Þrúðr sighed and yelled one last time, “If I get in trouble for you-!”

“You won't!” Tamsin smirked as she said it, and her steps fell into a soft patter as she walked languidly through the great hall's doors and into the next room.

The room she sauntered into was just as large as the one she had just vacated, and her eyes perceived more gold than wood than the last hall. Yawning, Tamsin walked through room after room, grand hall after grand hall, until she made a sudden left after finally passing a large and beautiful fountain dedicated to one of Tamsin's many sisters whom saved Freyja's life after a large battle with the Jötnar. It featured her sister cutting off the head of the giant and holding it victoriously above her waving locks toward the sky. Not even the high ceilings of the Dal Riata could contain the marble statue, and the thought brought a small smirk to the valkyrie's lips as she passed it.

Her sandals padded silently on the ground as she walked, the leather straps that ran along her calves that connected to the footwear stretching and tightening on her flesh with every step she took. It was ridiculous how large her mother's hall was, and she wished she could just teleport, float, or simply disappear in one area to reappear in another as the noble dead could do. Entering the hallway of long running wooden doors, that looked exactly the same Tamsin thought bitterly, the valkyrie turned into a seemingly random one that was in the middle of the hallway before it led into yet another room.

Entering the room, it's colors completely complementary to the assortment of furniture and pallet for the other places in the hall, Tamsin sighed as she could literally feel the strain in her muscles begin to recede. Foot to heel, the valkyrie diligently took off her shoes with ease as she rubbed her left shoulder with her hand; placing her sheathed weapon onto her wooden table. Looking toward one of her satin sheets covering the mirror in which she used to connect with her shell, she pulled it off slightly to see how bad she looked.

“Not _that_ bad,” she decided, as her hair and clothing were not as disheveled as Þrúðr made it appear and she ran slight fingers over her rosy cheeks.

Being in the ethereal realm was proving to do wonders for her features, and she was happy to see that her once wholly beautiful form was returning to her outside appearance instead of simply striving for it on the Earthen plane. Groaning slightly, she wondered if she ever returned to Midgard if her inner light that permeated her features would dwindle as it always did. Valkyrie's were naturally beautiful, naturally proud, and that emotion never left them after leaving their realm. It was just easier to overlook after a battle or strife when on earth, Tamsin thought bitterly as she moved away from the mirror.

“Shit,” she whispered as she swept through the room, her hair falling into her face as she bent down onto her cushioned bed. “Didn't know how much this would take out of me.”

Sighing, Tamsin stretched out onto her bed before grabbing a pillow, completely forgetting about changing her attire, after hitting the one she lay on to conform it to her specifications, and placing it between her legs and upper body. Her blonde locks splayed around her head as if it were a halo and her eyes drooped as the weight of her situation dawned on her for the umpteenth time that day: _She was dead._

And not the dead sense someone would think of when they thought life was shit and they didn't have any way out. No, Tamsin was _dead_ dead. Like OJ Simpson and Tupac dead, she thought as her cheek pressed harder into the pillow. Not that she knew who those men were anyways, or if they were actually dead or alive, as she had remembered Kenzi saying something along those lines when talking of their adventure on their drunken exploits into Trick's alcohol cabinet.

“Trick's going to go OJ on our asses!” Kenzi had said, her arms filled with liquor.

The mental image brought a slight smile to the valkyrie's lips and she turned over in bed, onto her back, the back of her hand coming to rest on her forehead.

Tamsin had felt the sudden weight lifted from her chest when her corporeal body had been attacked. She felt the blade squelch in her own belly, cutting deeper inside of her, burning her innards and making her vision blur. She had been talking to her mother about the duel between the Purple Eyed valkyrie and herself, and Tamsin had suddenly seen the bronzed wood and stone with flecks of gold of her father's hall in Valhalla. She had been looking upward, pain cascading through her body as she witnessed Ætta standing above her, the bloodied dagger in her grasp.

But that was wrong, Tamsin had thought, if it were to be her last thought she wanted to see blonde locks raining over her, brown soulful eyes looking into her own orbs. So she had whispered the name that belonged to those features, whispered it with such passion it would have broken even her father's frozen heart. And just before she felt her last breath, even if she was far from it, Tamsin had been looking her mother in the eyes as if she had been talking to her the entire time.

It was all the valkyrie had to stay sane from such a feat. Hell, the entire time she was in Sessrúmnir, Tamsin had to keep herself from thinking too hard of what torture, physically and mentally, the damned Purple Eyed valkyrie had put her lover through. She had watched, silently, as her nature destroyed any sense the human had left, and only then did she begin to try to reconstruct her as the valkyrie saw fit. Now that valkyrie was dead- what that meant for Tamsin's connection to her father and mother and her powers, she did not know- and Lauren Lewis was turned into fae. What kind, or what fealty that fae would choose- or have chosen for her- was still regarded as speculation and Tamsin's mind never drifted to what the most horrible outcome of a botched experiment would do to the human.

If there was anything Tamsin just couldn't have, it was thinking of her lover cold and lifeless on the floor of the Ash's compound; the fault laying on her shoulders.

Shaking her head, Tamsin suddenly threw the pillow behind her as she raised into a sitting position. Her hands ran down her face as she sighed heavily into them, and her eyes scavenged her ornate and beautiful room. This room was the only one she would belong to in the days to come, she thought bitterly, a hint of sadness marking her thoughts.

Her lives were over, being killed by a fellow valkyrie- no! Tamsin reprimanded, Ætta was no valkyrie, not by a long shot. Regardless, she was killed while in the holy realm of her father, and she knew without a doubt he would not be so kind to her, as her mother was, and simply give her back her shell. His logic would dictate that if she had never fallen in love with the human woman in the first place, it would have saved all of them the headache of what came after.

As if it were that easy.

Thank the gods she _was_ in her mother's realm, Tamsin thought as she scooted to the edge of the bed and dangled her feet to the ground, for if she was not, there would have been a chance the great All-Father would have made her take the test all valkyrie's had to that resided in his realm. If Bo and the rescue party had found a way to get to the Nine Realms, then he would have made them take the same test, and all of the happy Sunshine Gang would die a horrible and degrading death.

“So,” Tamsin sighed to herself after pushing off of her bed and stretching, “it's better this way. At least no one has to die with me.” She laughed to her self, “Since when did I get all sanctimonious?”

Just as the last syllable left her lips, a sudden tremor shook through her soles and into the core of her body. Placing a hand on the wooden chair that she had kicked from under the side table earlier that evening, Tamsin looked around as if the world were ending.

“What the hell?” she questioned as her mind reeled on what could have caused such a shudder through her mother's realm.

Footsteps, metal if Tamsin heard correctly, resounded off of the stone of the hallway and suddenly her door was opened as an onslaught of valkyrie's cascaded into her room.

“What is the meaning of this!” Tamsin shouted, her nobility getting the better of her.

“Lady Tamsin,” a younger valkyrie that Tamsin did not know spoke, “we must evacuate your holiness.”

“What the hell does that mean,” Tamsin blurted. “We're in the sacred halls of Sessrúmnir, what the shit do we need to be evacuating from?”

The valkyrie's shifted uncomfortably in their armor, their glistening silver metal sparking off the light rays as it hit them, at the woman's blunt words. Living on the earthen realm really did a number on the manners.

“Answer me!”

“Lady Tamsin,” the valkyrie said, her blue eyes looking into her lord's, “someone is incapacitating our sisters as they approach the sullied Earthen party that has broken through the Bifröst and into this plane.”

“Incapacitating?” Tamsin questioned.

“They do not kill them, but they are powerful, much more powerful than human-fae should be. We must protect you at all costs.”

“And what of my mother?”

“She chooses to stay,” another valkyrie said to Tamsin's left.

“Then I stay with her!”

“Lady Tamsin-!”

“Stand aside,” Tamsin commanded, and as ordered, the younger valkyrie's stood with their chests out and their arms at their sides. “Where are the intruders?”

“Lady Tamsin,” the first valkyrie who had spoken responded, “they are holding ground in the Room of Light. They do not seem pressed on moving from there, but they could-”

“Then come with me or stay, but I will go,” Tamsin responded, her green eyes glistening as she could see all the valkyrie's faces from where she stood.

They were younger, much younger than Tamsin had been when she had first began her duty, but it did not matter. They were valkyries, maidens of the All-Father and Freyja, and they were warriors. If they did not fight, they died. And no valkyrie wanted that. No valkyrie would ever want Tamsin's fate.

“We are with you, Lady Tamsin,” the valkyrie's said in union, their eyes staring into their lord's.

Tamsin nodded her head, her face turning grim, as she began to wonder who such Earthen intruders could be. Was Lauren?... No, it could not be her. There was no way.

As the older valkyrie turned, her assorted armor, from head to foot, began to appear over her disheveled garb. Silver buckled plates of mail clung tightly to her form, running down to her upper thighs in the ending of a battle skirt, and a bloodied red sash held tight to her midsection and trailed behind her in two strands. A slight string clasped around her midsection, holding an impossible force from it as her sheathed blackened blade she had taken off after entering her room was hanging loosely at her side. Above her knees were ornate wings that seemed to be imbedded in her flesh, her kneecaps enclosed by silver metal, the backs of her legs with that of brown leather, that traveled down and mixed with an assortment of brown and metal that marked her greaves. Her shoulders were protected by the same moveable silver, but they caressed her flesh instead of jutting from it, and her hands up to her elbows held crafted metal gauntlets, the same brown leather that marked her boots slightly covering a less spacious part of her arms.

“Come,” Tamsin said, looking back toward her enthralled entourage.

Shaking their heads, they had never seen such beautifully crafted armor except on their gods, the valkyrie's brandished their weapons and nodded, following a running Tamsin down the halls of Sessrúmnir.

It wasn't long before they found themselves at the middle marker of the Great Hall, the marble statue, and without stopping to catch a breath, Tamsin banked left into the hall that she knew would lead her to the Room of Light. Stopping short before even glimpsing the room, Tamsin saw valkyrie's upon valkyrie's back to back, spears and swords drawn, as if they were waiting for their turn at some game, and she wondered how strong these newcomers were that they would have put the entire valkyrie armada on edge.

“We must break through the throes,” a valkyrie responded behind Tamsin.

“Who are these mortals that they challenge us,” another said.

Tamsin responded for them, “It does not matter. We must push them back.” And with that, the green eyed valkyrie began to move.

The room was simply that, Tamsin found as she had not cared to wander into it, as she pushed her way through rows and rows of valkyrie maiden's who awaited their turn to be taken down by the intruders. Mirrors seemed to line the top of the arched room, their placement being so exact that a light beam would cascade down onto a certain spot on the floor, and fill the room with burning light. It was beautiful, the way a long beam of light seemed to sear it's way down from the heavens and cascaded onto the stone of the flooring. Beautiful and dangerous, Tamsin thought, as she pushed her way through the valkyrie's, her entourage getting lost in the confusion, and she wondered if she got too close to those beams if she would burn.

That was, however, until Tamsin felt and saw _real_ burning heat.

Mouth agape, lungs aching for air, the strong valkyrie stopped in her tracks. Her back was hit multiple times as she stood there, her sisters aching for battle in their dance, their shields and weapons at the ready.

The sight in front of her could not be real. It just couldn't be real.

But it _was_ real. As she witnessed them, a valkyrie that was slightly younger than Tamsin herself had run toward the enemy, her sword raised high above her head and her shield protectively in front of her body.

Laughingly, the assailant attacked as if there was nothing blocking her path. Her form was silhouetted in a bright stream of sunlight, her dark golden hair and soulful eyes intensified by the smoldering light. But it was not just the light that cascaded down into the room, Tamsin found as she stared, that the woman was bound in.

She was veiled in some type of armor that shone chrome white with golden light that resembled threads throughout the openings for her appendages but it was almost as if it was not there as she moved, it would shine so brightly it appeared transparent. Whatever fae she had turned into, it was a beautiful one, though extremely powerful and Tamsin had to stop herself from acting upon the next sight she witnessed.

Raising a delicate hand, the woman in front of them let forth burning air, it hitting the advancing valkyrie with such force and such speed, the fae dropped to the ground, unconscious yet unharmed. Her skin was slightly red from the burning heat, but other than that obvious symptom, Tamsin could not see any other impediment.

Green eyes slowly left the unconscious valkyrie and lifted slowly, so painstakingly slowly, to witness the woman who had done it to her.

The sight in front of her, Tamsin decided with finality, just couldn't be real but her thoughts were wiped from her mind as the dam broke behind her and suddenly, as if it were in slow motion, all of her valkyrie sisters began a running line toward the enemy. Their weapons flying in the air and their war cries filling the hall with too soon triumph and victory. They had just seen two of the most powerful valkyries taken down with ease, how else would they have reacted, Tamsin would have thought.

If she were herself, if the actions in front of her hadn't sank into her very soul and clawed out her heart, Tamsin would have stopped them. Would have done something to quiet their advance. But she didn't, she couldn't, and she slowly watched without comprehending what was happening.

Before she could do anything else, scream the oh so familiar name, or call for order in the room by her valkyrie sisters, blood was finally drawn that day.

+++

Thunder resounded inside of the vast hall, echoing off of the large arches of the ceiling, and moments later five companions spilled out of a circular colorful portal. Multiple sets of eyes turned from looking upon the stone and marble floor in confusion and up towards the awesome hall they stood in. The floor was spaced with strange light beams from the sky, and as they looked up to the ceiling, they saw multiple mirrors aligning to the streams of light cascading in from small paned windows. The mirrors seemed to have a mind of their own as every few minutes that passed, they would shift and change to different positions on the floor, still all the while holding their elegant charge of the sun rays. Columns of pillars spanned the far sides of the room, and the group's awe was not mistaken as they looked around.

“What... just happened?” Kenzi asked groggily, her crystal orbs scavenging the large area while her hand squeezed and massaged her left arm.

“That- that should not have been possible,” Hale said, looking into blonde locks as he stared at the back of Lauren's head.

“Where are we?” Bo inquired, glancing toward her former lover before taking a few steps away from the group and around the hall. “It looks like-”

“Heaven,” Dyson interrupted.

Bo nodded as she stared at the vast columns and gold pallet around them. If not for her upbringing in the little town that could, she would have thought that the place that she walked into really _was_ heaven.

Kenzi raised then waved her hand, her other holding her stomach as she bent forward. “Uh, guys-” she choked out, “I don't feel so hot.”

Dark hair splayed across the stone flooring as the Romani Girl fell onto it, her head smacking against the surface hard. Her hand was on her stomach, the other trying not to claw into the ground. Her face was sweating and her blue eyes flicked back and forth from her lover and her best friend who had come over to her immediately. She had heard them call her name, maybe an “Oh my God!” but everything around her seemed fuzzy. Kenzi felt someone grab her hand tightly and decided it must have been Bo as the succubus spoke next.

“What's wrong with her?” the woman asked incredulously, panic spread across her features.

“Kenzi- Kenz!” Hale shouted as he saw his girlfriend's eyes begin to droop and her breath coming out in strained and hitching breaths.

Dyson was the only calm one in the room, that is however, besides Lauren. Walking to her, his face next to hers as she was turned from him, he spoke definitively, “You have to save her, Lauren.”

Face slightly turned, the human-fae said, “We have to keep moving. They'll be on us soon.”

The wolf grabbed her arm and to his surprise, she simple stood there, her flesh becoming hot under his touch. “Kenzi will die if you don't help her.”

“She'll die anyway if we do not get to the main hall. To- the one I need most.”

“Listen to me,” Dyson almost yelled, turning the woman around to face him head on, sobs of a name coming from behind him. “Kenzi, your friend, is going to die.” A long pause gripped him before he could say the next few words, his heart restricting after each syllable, “I want to see her, the real her, just as much as you. But if we sacrifice what makes us different, better, than that purple eyed valkyrie, then we're all lost. Do you understand?”

Brown orbs slowly swept over the ground and her flesh became normal temperature again. She could see the thankful look in the wolf's gaze as she must have been burning his hands with her spiraling emotions. “Kenzi is hurt.”

Dyson nodded and repeated, “Kenzi is hurt.”

Dark blonde locks shook around her face as the doctor got a good look at the girl laying on the floor. Her skin beaded and shone with sweat and her eyes tried to stay focused on Hale as her teeth clacked as if she were cold. Would she really allow such a friend to die for her own selfish purposes?

_It does not matter if she dies. What matters is your valkyrie._

But if Kenzi dies...

_She is a casualty of war. Surely you know this._

I didn't know we were participants in a war.

_Allow me control, doctor for you shall not pass through this hall without my assistance._

You may be your own entity but you do not control me. Besides, that is what I am. A doctor.

The human-fae moved quickly, her brown orbs flying to crystal as she bent and placed a hand on the apex of the human's stomach, her left hand going to her forehead.

“Doc, please, please,” Hale began to repeat, his eyes becoming watery.

Ignoring the new mantra the former Ash commenced, Lauren spoke softly, “Kenzi, you have a serious form of insouciance and cellular degradation. Your body is shutting down slowly. First your internal organs, blood flow, red blood cells, then finally your brain.”

Kenzi laughed, her throat constricting and choking out the words, “Give it to me straight, doc.”

“Sorry,” Lauren said, her face falling into concern and self badgering for her behavior. “I need everyone to be silent.”

With that, the good doctor took a long whistle of breath, her head falling slightly, her face contorting into concentration. It wasn't long before her body became heated, her eyes turning golden with brown flecks, her hair flying around her face with sudden wind that picked up through the hall but only affecting one. Her skin seemed to glow as the hand on her friend's stomach pushed further into the cloth, unnatural light filling the onlookers gazes. Lauren slowly bent down, her glowing locks falling into Kenzi's face, as her lips softly touched the girl's forehead.

Almost instantly, Kenzi's body jolted, her arms going up, and she would have caught Lauren in the clinging motion of her arms, but the blonde quickly moved and Hale was trapped in the desperate attempt at connection from the girl. She was trying hard not to whimper, her eyes closing as she felt a steady hand on her back belonging to the succubus, her hands clawing into the wool and polyester of the mans suit.

“Hale,” she whispered, “Hale- Hale.”

“Shh,” the man hushed her, “it's okay now. You're okay.”

It was Bo's turn to speak as she saw her former lover huff out a slow breath, “What just happened? Kenzi could have died!”

“But she didn't,” Lauren said smoothly as she stood, her eyes turning to likewise brown, as the unnatural light left her. “Kenzi is family. I would never let that happen.”

“Then why put her in the situation in the first place,” Bo seethed, her love for her best, and first ever real friend, trumping the love for her former lover.

Lauren was taken aback by the statement, the anger, that the succubus was exuding. Was this the way the doctor had treated the Purple Eyed valkyrie when she had brought her through a portal for the first time? If she had not had Dyson there to help her come to her senses, to think of something more than just the Green Eyed valkyrie, would she have allowed Kenzi to die such a horrible death? Just as Purple Eyes was going to allow everyone else to die just to keep Lauren safe?

“We needed to ascend here to find Tamsin. I'm sorry Kenzi. I just wasn't thinking,” Lauren said, turning her head to look back to Kenzi.

The Romani Girl looked up slowly and smiled slightly. “Totes okay, Hotpants. So the tingling in my feet will go away with time, right?”

Lauren couldn't help a slight smile as she looked down at the girl who, in such a short time, turned into a woman. The smile was wiped off her lips, however, when she felt a sudden force behind her. The look of urgency and mistrust on the succubus' face made Lauren turn, and the wolf's features did nothing to assuage her thoughts of who could be standing behind them all. A valkyrie, or so Lauren thought she valkyrie, stood exuding awesome power, and her armor glinted as she stood squarely inside of one of the light beams cascading around the room.

“How dare you step here, human-fae!” the woman barked, a set of twin daggers holstered in view on her armored plated pants. A spear with gnarled wood was held firmly in her hand and her hair hung loosely until it was clasped with a strong woven band at the very end of it. Her garb suggested she had just come from a battle, or considering the place they were standing in, it could have been for some kind of high honor or feast. She looked absolutely terrifying as she commanded attention and respect.

“That's a little derogatory,” Lauren whispered, her inner geek rearing it's ugly head, her confidence building for if it did not, she would have stayed silent in fear.

“What did you say, human?”

“I mean,” Lauren cleared her throat, “shouldn't it be Earth-fae? Human-fae is completely offensive and derogatory. _You_ are all human, or you _were_ , you've simply ascended into a plane of existence we can not reach unless under certain circumstances.”

“And you have reached such a circumstance,” the lighter blonde said, her crystal eyes darting to the companions separately. She completely disregarded Lauren's words as truth, as the doctor was simply making light of the situation. The fae were a subspecies of human, not humans themselves, and the valkyrie knew as much. “You will leave at once.”

“We are here for Tamsin,” Lauren said instead, completely dismissing the valkyrie's words.

At the name the valkyrie seemed to stand taller, her back straightening and her armor clanking together along with her helmet that was held to her side. “What business would a lowly human have with Lady Tamsin?”

“Now she's a 'Lady',” Kenzi whispered where she sat. “Rockin' the titles there Tammy.”

“Take me to her, and she'll tell you herself,” Lauren responded, stopping herself from giving an incredulous glance back at Kenzi.

In return, the valkyrie simply raised her hand, her fingers splayed out to the group and her crystal orbs shown defiance.

_Stop her now for she will pull you all apart!_

“Stop!” Lauren shouted, her own hand flying up in adjacency to the valkyrie's. “If you try to send us back, or to a cell, it won't work.”

“Your effrontery is most amusing, human,” the valkyrie said, her hands never leaving their position.

“What I say is the truth, Þrúðr. Instead of sending us back, it will only scatter-”

The valkyrie cut her off with such force, not even Lauren would have expected it, “How do you know my name!”

_The name of a valkyrie is most precious to them. To know it is to hold power over them._

Lauren cleared her throat, thinking fast. “I told you,” she said, “I know Tamsin. She is the one who told me who you were. She said I could trust you. I meant no disrespect.”

“She said nothing to me,” Þrúðr responded, her crystal eyes scanning the intruders once again. If she were to go against Lady Tamsin's will...

“Take me to her,” Lauren pushed, edging closer to the lighter blonde, her hand never lowering or wavering.

It was going fine. It was going well. All Lauren needed was one more little push, and the valkyrie would do her bidding and take her to see Tamsin. There would have been no bloodshed. No show of force. But everything crumbled as soft footsteps resounded behind the valkyrie, somewhere in transition from hall to hall, and Lauren saw the likes of a young- a very young- valkyrie sauntering through the grand opened doors. The girl's bouncing blonde hair joyfully caressed the curvature of her face, and her young green eyes reminded the newly turned fae of the woman she was there for. The girl had not seen the intruders yet, only seeing the likes of the elder valkyrie and she gave a wide grin.

“Þrúðr, Ég hef verið að leita fyrir þig!* Come, Goddess Freyja wants to know where Tamsin is. She's getting awfully-” the girl suddenly cut off as she walked through the doors and up to her friend's side. Her face turned ashen, her eyes going wide. “Intruders,” she breathed.

“No,” Lauren said, her hand moving towards the young girl in a defensive gesture to show the valkyrie they didn't mean any harm.

“Intruders!” the valkyrie screamed, a spear much like Þrúðr's suddenly appearing in her hand, raised toward the sky to be perpendicular to the ground.

Suddenly raising the butt of the weapon from the side, the valkyrie slammed it into the stone floor, white tendrils snaking from it in circles and charging into the halls beyond.

“No!” Lauren screamed as Þrúðr looked back at the group, her hand raised and her index and middle finger squeezed tightly together.

The elder valkyrie cut her hand to the right, then downward, and suddenly a portal appeared behind Hale, the closest to the closed gateway after he had raised himself and Kenzi to their feet. His face contorted into confusion as he felt his body moving on it's own accord, his shoes no longer touching the ground as he was lifted up into the air by an extreme gust of wind and thrown backward.

“Hale!” Kenzi called for her lover, turning and trying to run towards him; trying to grab his hand to pull him back to her.

The Romani Girl had just reached him, had touched and hooked fingers with the man, before he let out a wild howl and suddenly he was gone. The last face Kenzi saw in that moment was a face of pain and confusion.

“Stop this!” Lauren called, her body turning and her hand flying up towards the portal. “I command thee, close!”**

The portal in which she pointed at suddenly winked out of existence as it did upon their arrival, and if Lauren had spoken any later, Kenzi's arm would have gone with it as she was trying to run into the portal and follow her lover through.

“No!” the Romani Girl cried, her feet skidding on the ground as she stopped herself.

“He is fine, Kenzi,” Lauren yelled, her body turning back towards the valkyrie's.

That is, the one valkyrie, as the younger one had sped off back the way she came, presumably to warn the thralls of warriors in the hall to come to attention. She was obviously not one for fighting, probably too young, and it was acceptable to the elder valkyrie that she had run away to further warn the incoming reinforcements. If they didn't get out of there soon, Lauren didn't know how many of the strong fae she would be able to take out and with a human and two fae, she didn't think any of them were going to get out of there alive.

A sweet voice drifted through her mind, completely eradicating her previous thoughts, much as in the beginning of this folly: _Allow me control._

No!

_If you do not, you will never see your beloved again. You do not know combat as I do._

If I do, you'll kill them. They're just warriors. They don't-

_I will not harm them if you do not wish it of me._

How can I trust you?

_You can't. And you never will._

Lauren's breath hitched at the last thought and suddenly her screams of pain ripped through the hall as she gave her fae full control, her body burning asunder with the heat that seemed to rip through her flesh originating in her chest. Her bare feet left the ground as she levitated in the air slightly, her hair flying around her like a halo. Bright light exuded from her pores, her transparent heads appearing where no heads should, and her fingers clawed toward the sky as she gritted her teeth. Her three pairs of wings jutted from her back and covered her feet and rested above her head; the middle beating steadily to keep her elevated. They were covered grotesquely, yet elegantly, with hundreds of eyes spanning feathers, their colorful iris' rapidly darting back and forth as if they had developed nystagmus.

Sudden armor, transparent in appearance, shone tightly on Lauren's body and it curved and dipped in just the right places. If not for her incandescent, for her beauty, the elder valkyrie would have attacked the woman already for she had left herself wide open and her companions had to turn their own eyes away from the heat.

Smooth feet touched the stone of the hall, her brown eyes now gold with flecks of darkness, her hair a fleece of rich yellow. Her heads disappeared, Lauren's face which was turned toward the sky slowly lowering to see the valkyrie, along with her wings and she looked dead into the eyes of her opponent.

“You are no valkyrie, but-” Þrúðr sputtered, her spear held firm in her grip for fear of it trembling from the force the woman opposing her emitted.

“I am nothing you have seen before,” Lauren the newly ordained fae said, her teeth shining as she smiled deviously.

The valkyrie gulped, her spear cradled in her arm as her hand was to the upper portion of the wood, and she wondered how long she could survive against such a creature. A creature that reminded her of the Unholies, but had the powers and talents of that of the valkyrie's. What was the thing in front of her?

A small sound came from Lauren's back and she barely tuned in when a whispered sentence reached her ears, “She looks- when she transformed-”

“Bo?”

The succubus shook her head. “Three sets of wings, the burning, the heads in every cardinal direction. Mama used to tell me about them...”

“Wait, your mom knew about the fae?”

“No, Kenz,” Bo said agitatedly. “They were in the bible. The highest level of the angels. The ones that were in the presence of God himself. But that's impossible!” Bo shook her head again, “Dyson, is Lauren a Seraphim?”

Dyson seemed taken aback. “They are one of the highest forms of fae out there. A rare and dangerous species.”

“If they were in the bible,” Kenzi asked, “then how are they so dangerous?”

“That much power corrupts a person, Kenz. But if Lauren's new fae ability is of the Seraphim, there's no telling how long she can survive.”

“What are you talking about?” Bo asked, her voice rising an octave as her fear suddenly surfaced.

Lauren was not able to hear the rest of the conversation as the elder valkyrie opposing her suddenly vaulted towards her after dropping her helm, spear jutted outward. Quickly ducking, her arms outstretched and her hands unclenched, Lauren dodged swiftly as she stepped to the left, all the while moving her body inwards through the valkyrie's defenses. The elder didn't comprehend what was happening as the doctor's right hand slid over in the opposite direction of the oncoming spear, her hands feeling just how old the wooden staff was, and suddenly her body moved under that right arm and her back connected with the valkyrie's breast plate. By doing so, Lauren's right palm connected with the valkyrie's wrist.

The newly turned fae rotated her hand to knock the valkyrie's left downward to her side while simultaneously grabbing Þrúðr's windpipe and extending her right arm downward as to gain leverage with her left, her shoulder pressed into the upper arm of the valkyrie in an unnatural position. Her leg knocked out Þrúðr's with ease, and Lauren let out a low grunt as her languid motions did not cease and she slammed the valkyrie to the floor after flipping her head over heels. Strands of hair fell into Lauren's eyes as she slightly huffed while looking down and marginally smiling as she witnessed a nasty burn mark on the valkyrie's neck where she had grabbed her.

Thunderous footsteps running toward her made the fae turn, her golden streaks of hair falling into her vision, and her wicked smile, her teeth bared as if she were an animal, never left her lips as she saw the sight before her.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of valkyrie's, their hair covered with their winged helms, shoulders and bodies covered with twisted metal that resembled nothing from Earth, glared back at her and at their fallen sister. Witnessing the burn on the woman's neck, along with the simple fact she was taken out in less than a minute as it had taken them that long to respond, made them jitter amongst themselves inaudibly, the silent awe blanketing the crowd like wildfire.

“Holy... balls!” Kenzi exclaimed behind the fae.

“This is bad. This is really bad,” Bo proclaimed as she finally unsheathed her dagger from her side. Her hand pushed her best friend behind her slightly, and her eyes scavenged the many lines of valkyries.

In the corner of the succubus' eye she saw Dyson's eyes turn pure gold and black, his brow scrunching into a glare much like an animal. His nails elongated and pointed into slight claws and his eyes were on every enemy that his wolf eyes could see.

They were in for a fight, and it didn't look good.

A valkyrie, younger than Þrúðr but older than the younger girl that had walked in and caused this ferment, ran toward Lauren with a sword in hand, a shield on the other. It was like Lauren the Human Doctor was no longer there, much as it seemed when Tamsin had checked out and the Purple Eyed Demon had stepped in, for the blonde simply moved her hand in front of her and a burning heat cascaded through the room, punishing the valkyrie with intense warmth, without the blink of an eye.

The way her hair fell in front of her face, concealing her features, it made her seem... _wrong_.

Kenzi let forth a yelp that resembled a “Shit!” when the mental obstruction stopping the valkyries from attacking broke and they yelled out a war cry that rivaled anything she had ever heard. She looked quickly to Bo, then to Dyson, as even the all powerful fae looked lost, confused, and without hope. Tightening the hold on her crossbow, she gulped down her fear and aimed with shaking hands toward the onslaught.

That was, however, until a booming voice cascaded through the room and a raven haired beauty suddenly appeared before the running line of valkyries. Immediate upon her arrival, an invisible wave of energy hit both her valkyries and the human-fae, creating a wave of fallen warriors, but only one group raised to their feet with ease. Hazel eyes crinkled with anger as she stepped towards the doctor before her energy wave had fully knocked her down.

“You have degraded my realm, attacked my valkyries! You will be punished for your insolence!” Freyja screamed, a loud crack sounding throughout the hall as the backside of her palm connected firmly with Lauren's jaw and sending the woman flying across the room.

Turning back to her valkyries who had just gotten to their feet again, Freyja looked at one in particular and twisted back around to see Lauren's head hitting the hard pillar and her body crumpling to the ground in a sickening thud.

“Lauren!” yelled her party as they witnessed such a surprisingly strong turned fae get her ass beat in less than five seconds flat.

Hazel eyes glared at the two fae, and human, and only one looked at her with likewise anger induced brown orbs. Nostrils flared as Lauren's blood coated the air, and Freyja opened her mouth to speak, leaving the valkyries screaming with triumph with their weapons brandished towards the sky.

“Behold the power of Dei Gratia!”*** Freyja yelled forth, waving a hand towards the sullied Seraphim. “I expected much more from God's Grace, what an incredible jest!”

Orbs glared into the enemy, eyes overwhelmed by her darkened judgment, as silence arose through the halls; the throes of valkyries suddenly quieting as if they knew what was to come next. It grew louder as the seconds rolled by, awaiting for their god's next order. Turning to her valkyries, looking at every warrior of the front line collectively, she slowly turned her gaze upon the group again.

Reposed, but dangerously subtle tone crept from the goddess' throat... “Kill them all.”

* * *

 

***“Ég hef verið að leita fyrir þig!” Means “I've been looking for you!” in Icelandic.**

**** “I command thee, close!” Means, “I command thee, close!” in Enochian. Enochian is usually written from right to left and top to bottom, but I'm a stickler so sorry for that. A/N: So I wrote it in Enochian cos I can do that, but the computer automatically changes it after I save. This is me sulking in the distance. The entire character I wanted to portray Lauren as is kinda fallen flat now. Please forgive.**

*****“Dei Gratia” Means “God's Grace” in Latin.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit's about to go dooowwwwn! Hope you enjoyed.


	8. Blood Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tamsin would do anything to protect the newly ordained human-fae, and her allies. If that meant going against her mother bare handed to do it, she would. Of course a spear helped too.

“Kill them all,” Tamsin's mother said calmly, her eyes focused on the enemy, her back turned from her onslaught of blood thirsty valkyries.

_Kill them all._

The thought seeped into Tamsin's mind for only a moment before she reacted swiftly and, most likely, foolishly. A fierce spear appeared from nothingness in her hand, her muscle bulging slightly as her palm encircled the gnarled wood of the spear as she twisted it around, the blunt portion of the weapon pointed outward. Stepping swiftly in front of the soon to be running line, Tamsin quickly turned and felt the sudden jolt cascade through her body as she bent low and delivered a sweeping blow to her companions' feet.

Stepping back, away from the fallen valkyries, Tamsin quickly used the unused momentum and flipped the spear behind her body, after an impressive amount of twirling antics, and she caught it firmly in her grasp again. She could feel all eyes on her and her left hand, in which the spear she cradled was jutting into the wrist, was trembling slightly as she held it deathly tight while her body crept low in stance ready for an attack. If anyone were to be so foolish, all she had to do is bring her right hand to the lower portion of the spear and swing.

“Mother,” she said quietly as she danced in place, her weapon moving with her gyrations. “Mother, please listen.”

“You consort with the enemy?” Freyja replied. The smell of ember suddenly filled the room with the goddess' brimming rage.

Tamsin turned her head slightly, her green orbs quickly darting back to her valkyries, to gain eye contact with her god. “That is Lauren, mother. That is the one that makes me whole.”

“You speak like a human with such talk,” the goddess seethed. She jutted her chin towards the doctor sprawled on the ground. “Unlike that one.” A moment passed after her words had the impact she desired and she calmly stated, “You do not sound like my daughter.”

“She doesn't know what she's doing,” replied Tamsin, her words slow and exact as she chose not to reply to her mother's harsh words. Her eyes darted behind the goddess to the human-fae on the ground, then to Kenzi and the rest of the party. She watched as the succubus swiftly darted her eyes towards the fallen blonde, and Tamsin knew if it weren't for the power washing through the room, she would have already been by the woman's side. “But she's a Seraphim. One of us. By law you cannot kill another-”

“Do not dare to quote the laws to me, girl!” Freyja exploded, air suddenly whipping through the great hall.

“You cannot kill another soul unless it is through combat or a test!” Tamsin plowed on. Witnessing movement in the corner of her eye, she turned her head back and thrust out her weapon. “Get back,” she yelled, her end of her weapon connecting to the chest of the young valkyrie who had retrieved Tamsin from her room just a few minutes before.

_Drip, drip, drip_

The young valkyries eyes glared into Tamsin's, and the elder woman seethed right on back. Tamsin had to protect Lauren. That was the only thing she desired among all else. She had failed in her mission to the Morrigan to take down the succubus. Had failed in trying to gain possession of her own body! Tamsin had murdered the only person she had ever felt a connection with, or so she could remember, and had lived with the cold carcass of the woman. But she would not fail again, not now after things were finally looking up, even if her mother was going to kill her any moment for her disobedience. She was a warrior, a protector, a god. There was just no way Lauren was going to die to her Seraphim, her mother, or _any_ valkyrie if she had breath to draw. If Tamsin had to die to prove that fact, she would gladly do it.

_Drip, drip, drip_

Eyes slightly squinted as she heard the soft patter upon the ground. She didn't feel the pain in her wrist and arm until her mother spoke.

“You would bleed for this woman?”

Green peered down to her bleeding wrist slowly. The blood had already cascaded across her flesh in soft lines, and she wondered when she had shifted it downward as she witnessed the blood had crawled up her arm but had backtracked just before reaching her elbow.

“You always told me that whoever I would choose to die unconditionally for is the one that would rule my heart. It was hard, and goddess praise me I was so godsdamn stubborn. But she's the one, mom. I found it like you once told a cynical child she would. And I will be damned if anyone takes that away from me!” Tamsin looked around the great hall, but mostly keeping her attention on her bleeding lover. “Please, mother, I take them upon me.” Lifting her arm, after shifting the spear into her right hand, she spoke definitely, “If they do anything that warrants them death, I will pay for them in blood. Please.”

A collective gasp came from behind the valkyrie as she raised her bleeding hand further to her mother, the first blood sacrifice for the intruders ambush, and she knew her words were radical, insane even, to the group of warriors in the hall. But she had to. For Lauren's, and the rest of the groups, life she had to.

“No,” a weak voice resounded through the silence-thickened hall. Lauren, brave, honorable, amazing Lauren used the pillar in which she was thrown into to wobble to her feet. “Whatever price,” she choked out, “should be on my head. I am the one that brought them here, and so I should be the one who is punished. I will not run,” Lauren encouraged as she looked into Freyja's hazel eyes. Her hand left the pillar slowly as she walked hesitantly towards the goddess, and her eyes never left the woman's.

“Lauren,” Dyson said astonished. The doctor was allowing herself to be taken as tribute for their intrusion. Yes, Lauren was an honorable woman, but from all of the years he knew her, her years of torture, of pain from people that were genetically advanced than herself, he wondered how she could be so strong to do such a thing.

“Doc,” Kenzi said, while Bo let out a harsh, “Don't!”

The brunette's calls were cut off as, surprisingly, it was Tamsin who glared at them instead of the goddess of the hall. When she made sure they would not shout anymore profane things, green orbs looked back to her lover and her mother practically squaring off as one tried to stand erect, and actually accomplishing it, while the other looked daggers at the intruder.

Lauren was strong, physically stronger anyways, than from before. A throw that her mother had dished out would have killed anyone else, human or fae alike, and the fact that the simple doctor had survived it, Tamsin didn't know if she should be scared of Lauren's awesome, yet raw, power, or if she should be happy that her girlfriend was finally able to help herself as the Icelandic blonde always knew how to.

Hazel eyes looked into brown and a hand was suddenly caressing the doctor's cheek. A sarcastic, evil undertone crept out of the goddess, “You are a strong beast. Do you really think you could past my test? What of my daughter and your intentions?”

Lauren stood defiantly and did not speak. She did not conclude her silence with the goddess until, in her peripheral, she saw Tamsin looking scared as hell. “I have given my life, my mind... my body for the fae. I stayed by Tamsin's valkyrie's side trying everything I could to get her back. I admit, it was for my own selfish needs. But I tried. Not hard enough,” the human whispered as she finally broke eye contact and looked upon the floor. Swiftly returning upwards into hazel eyes, Lauren continued, “I will fight with every breath I draw to prove to you and any god that I love her. So you can put me through any test you would want, but I will never stop. Not ever.”

The last line was delivered with such finality, such passion, that such cold valkyries that surrounded them in the hall looked at each other as they lowered their weapons only slightly. Lauren's breath seemed to catch in her chest, her bones groaning as she stood at attention; arching her back and elongating her neck to appear more threatening and in control. It didn't take a genius to see how out of control the situation was, and it didn't escape Lauren's thoughts as she bore a hole into the goddess' eyes.

Without warning, without consequence, ruckus laughter, harsh and piercing, rang through the halls and astonished all participants. Raven hair fell over shoulders in beautiful strands and lips were drawn so high that canines could be seen clearly pointed and looking strangely deathly. Barking, hitching, breaths of laughter escaped the goddess' throat and her hazel eyes seemed to scrunch as her face did. A hand raised, and swatted, in front of her as if to ward off whatever hilarity the human-fae had caused on her, and she tried to stand erect on more than one occasion.

“You make your ancestors proud with such bravery,” she boomed, her hands coming up to raise at both sides. “Tonight we feast in honor of the Seraphim's test!” Freyja lowered her voice, it suddenly becoming stern, as she fixed a hold on Lauren. “And after, whether she may fail or lose, we shall feast in her honor.” Brightening suddenly, the goddess turned and eyed her valkyrie party. Clapping her hands as if she were a queen and the valkyries her servants, Freyja laughingly said, “Tamsin, dear, show them to your room. I assume you wish for the human-fae- bah, Lauren!- to stay with you. The others may dorm in the room next to yours.”

All of the anxiety clouding the air seemed to disappear along with the goddess' rage and laughter. The valkyries, as if they had no minds of their own- unless they were easily swayed by their gods- raised their spears high toward the sky and they cried cheers of Lauren's fae title rather than by her name. They turned suddenly and marched back the way they came, to the hall that must have been designated the feasting hall, and so abhorrently jokingly, the only bodies left in the Room of Light were a dwindling six.

“After you have rested, you must come to the Great Hall to feast and consent to your challenge to be accepted as one with the valkyrie sisters,” Freyja said as she turned toward the door. Her voice, even though she was turned away from Lauren, carried heavily in the room as it resounded off the high ceilings and archways. “Until then, human-fae and company.”

Just like that, the powerful goddess, along with the smell of ember washed out of the room. Leaving only five, two of which were breathing heavily. Brown eyes turned to green and she was going to smile, show some type of emotion that rivaled that of enjoyment or passion, but pure and unsullied love for seeing her partner after what felt like years. She took a step toward her lover, not a smile but slight confusion as to what the valkyrie would do. Lauren, however, did twitch her head to the side, a breath almost like a laugh leaving her throat, as she silently asked why Tamsin had not moved.

Hot, red, rejection hit hard, so damn hard, when green lowered from brown and flitted to her right.

“This way,” a gruff voice escaped the valkyrie and she urged them closer with two fingers. The spear she had conjured had disappeared into the nothingness in whence it came and the jab in her arm seemed to not be bleeding any longer. Her eyes, just for a moment, flitted to the human-fae's head, which also ceased to bleed, and that was the only sign of the real Tamsin being in the room with them as she was so cold to a woman that she had not seen, had watched as her own hands tortured her, and whom she loved. 

The three members of Lauren's party behind her looked at each other, surprise spreading across their features, before they stepped forward. It was Bo who had to grab hold of Lauren's arm for a split second before the blonde would begin to move, unbridled confusion spread across her features.

Silence cut like a burning knife as the group walked the halls of Fólkvangr. The valkyrie's neck was noticeably taught, her chin set hard, her facial features distorted in a grimace. Her eyes never left in front of her, not even to size if her friends- she assumed they were close enough to be deemed friends- had stopped in awe at their surroundings.

Even when Lauren had stopped and asked, “Isn't that Geiravör holding Hrungnir's head? Thor was said to have slain him, but we all know which valkyrie did it.” She said it so humorously, so nonchalant, that even Tamsin's eyes finally darted from their path and back toward the human-fae. She said nothing, however, and continued walking, leaving Lauren even more confused on why she was being chastised for knowing information on Tamsin's world.

Maybe it was because this _is_ Tamsin's world, Lauren thought solemnly as she walked behind the valkyrie, the party a few steps behind. Still, the thought puzzled her but she quickly forgot about it as Tamsin stopped suddenly in front of her. It was strange that she had not been paying attention to their surroundings, and she wondered when they had gotten into the narrow hallway filled with doors on either side.

Lauren watched the valkyrie open a old and wooden door, and she was taken aback at the weapon and armor the woman wore. Had she been adorned in it the entire time, Lauren thought as she watched the shining metal and leather escape her vision as Tamsin walked through the door and out of sight. Shaking her head, she continued inward to follow the woman, and she heard slight shuffling as Kenzi, Bo, and Dyson stalked into the room and found a corner in which they felt comfortable in.

An uncomfortable silence drifted through the room as Tamsin leaned on her bed frame, her armor clinking and readjusting on the valkyrie's body easily with use, and Lauren stood in the middle of the room, slightly in front of the rest of the party.

“So...” Kenzi slightly sang, her fingers drumming against the wall she leaned upon. Her face contorted strangely as she sucked the lower corner of her lip, trying to think of anything to say to cut down on the awkward.

Before she could, an enthusiastic yet annoying singing voice suddenly cut through the thick of silence for her:

“If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends

(gotta get with my friends)  
Make it last forever friendship never ends!”

Multiple eyes slowly were drawn towards a pair of voluptuous breasts, and the confused face of the succubus looking down into her bra, the source of the playing music.

“What in the world?” Lauren inquired.

“I don't know,” Bo said slowly as she reached into her cleavage, how such low cut tops could hide a phone Tamsin would never know, and pulled out her ringing phone.

“Whoa! You Doctor Who'd Bo's phone!” Kenzi proclaimed, “When did you sonic Bo's phone? You can do that?” Her crystal orbs darted towards her own phone snug in her pocket and she bit her lip. Maybe if she could just see if Hale was alright...

Tamsin, sensing the girl's intentions, decided to explain quickly before Bo's call was dropped. “Electronics work here,” she began, “the essence around this place simply drains the battery quickly. I should know,” Tamsin said, making a face, after looking toward a small silver device on her dresser. “So?” was asked after indicating the phone with a jut of the chin.

“Well who is it?” Kenzi also asked, still hopeful that it was somehow the misplaced former Ash on the line.

Shaking her head instead of answering the blonde woman and turning to Kenzi to shrug her shoulders, she clicked “talk” on her phone and put it to her ear.

A shaky voice asked, “Hello?”

There was silence in the room again as the succubus had not thought to turn the phone on speaker, but she quickly cut through it as she said, “Wait- wait- wait, calm down! You're talking too fast and you're garbled. Hey, Trick? Trick!” Looking around the room, Bo's brown eyes skimmed brown, green, and blue. “It's dead. H-he sounded scared out of his mind.” Her frantic eyes turned on the valkyrie. “Can you sense or see or something down there- to earth?”

An anxious glance traveled over Lauren before she looked at Bo. “Look, it's not that simple. I can't just-”

“You made it sound like your momsies should have known Lauren just by her face,” Kenzi cut in. “Doesn't that mean you've got some way to see Earth?”

“It's not allowed for outsiders to even be here,” Tamsin suddenly fumed. “If I try to open a mirror portal to see Midgard, Freyja-”

“What about Trick!” Bo cut in furiously. “He has never sounded like that since I've known him and, granted, it hasn't been that long, I'm still going to go with my gut and say that's not freaking normal!”

“Your personal gains could get me killed,” Tamsin reiterated.

It was Dyson who spoke next. His voice was low and gruff, as if he had weighed the sentence over in his mind upon seeing the valkyrie and he finally said, “It's good to see you, partner.”

Green was on blue instantly and a soft smile slipped over the valkyrie's face. Her body visibly relaxed as she sighed, and she whispered, “It's good to see you too. All of you.” Bending her head, her hand on her temple, she looked back up and groaned. “If you tell anyone about this, I'm going to have to kill you.”

Before anyone uttered a word in defense, the valkyrie swiftly walked to her mirror and pulled the satin sheets away from it. It blanketed a small chair and she quickly looked back into the mirror. Sighing deeply, presumably to reach into the deepest crevice of her sanity and courage, Tamsin breathed slowly but steadily. Her blood coated hand, for she had not cared to wash it from her skin, raised from the wooden dresser, towards the mirror ever slowly, and she hesitated only once before she pushed her fingers not _to_ the reflected glass, but _through_ it. The surface rippled like water around the origin points of her fingers, and as they reached the edge of the mirror, they backtracked back to the epicenter.

A whispered word, “Sýna.”*

If a whooshing sound could have gone through the room in that moment, it would thoroughly explain the sensation that swept through their bodies as they watched the mirror closely. Their bodies felt unlike their own, their breaths caught in their throats as the carnage revealed itself to their gaze. The images seemed to envelope them in their insanity.

Tamsin's fingers removed themselves from inside the reflected surface, and she brought them to her temple as she squeezed the bridge of her nose. Looking up, she could barely comprehend the sights that were being shown to her.

Dead... people.

Dead... bodies...

A woman crying and holding something... not quite moving. Her arm was bleeding where the cradled thing was held. So was her dress.

There was fire washing the city, and pain, God so much pain.

The visions washed with red, they were too disjointed for some reason, they didn't read correctly like in real time. Tamsin's mind couldn't follow it- wait, what was that?

Trick! He was holding something, his arm? Yes, there was something bleeding. Was he- oh God, he was bleeding on paper. No, he had no pen beside him.

He was chanting avidly, reading it as he waved his bleeding hand around, then with sudden force, he slammed his hand down onto the Dal's bar surface and an explosion of white and blue light cascaded outward.

Someone came running from the Dal's entrance, someone who had a fondness for fedoras. Oh no.

“Hale!” Kenzi cried out, moving toward the mirror but never getting in front of Tamsin while she did. It was choked, almost sobbing, and it didn't take a genius to know that Kenzi was trying to hold back her emotions.

There was something wrong. Something _felt_ wrong. Bo could feel a tear roll down her cheek as she watched the images change; heard her friend cry out her lover's name again as he turned to face whatever he had just been running from. His mouth opened in a scream but then-

There was something wrong back on Earth. Something horribly, dreadfully wrong. 

Harsh, painful, sounds escaped the mirror and Tamsin, who was the only one still mobile in the room, raised a splayed hand to the mirror and shouted, “Hætta!”**

Just as she uttered the words, she turned quickly behind her and rushed Kenzi and Lauren. The human was wrapped in Tamsin's grip first, then Lauren in her right, and they both hit the ground just as the mirror the valkyrie had been standing in front of exploded outward in shards of deathly glass.

Breathing heavily, Tamsin raised off of both humans after a moment when the glass shards no longer pelted against her back, well... one human, and looked at both equally. “Are you okay?” she whispered to both, but really one in general.

“Sure, I'm fine, not like I don't go through this everyday!” Kenzi mumbled as she got to her feet, brushing off glass particles from her attire. She looked at her boots and inspected them thoroughly.

Lauren was more slow, but nodded after a moment of realizing how close the valkyrie was to her. She smelled sweet, she thought as Tamsin got to her feet and offered her a hand, but she couldn't quite place the scent. Maybe it was some bathing lotion from the heavenly place, she thought. Tamsin's body was so warm against hers, her hand nice and smooth as it brushed into her own palm. Her lips parted slightly, in that way they always did when Tamsin was thinking hard about something, and her green eyes scavenged over the doctor's body for sign of injury. She was so beautiful...

_God, not now, Lauren!_

“What was that,” the doctor asked instead of keeping the valkyrie's gaze and looking instead back toward her friends to see if any of them had gotten hit.

Dyson had moved protectively over to Bo, blocking her with his own body, and if not for his thick leather vest, his back would have been impaled with countless glass shards. Bo's hands were on his shoulders and they fell after he turned from her to look back at Lauren. They both nodded and the doctor looked back towards her lover, glad she would not have to use her medical skill at such a time. However, Lauren thought, she doubted her rudimentary skills could even match that of the valkyrie's in Sessrúmnir.

“Well?” The doctor was looking at Tamsin expectantly. 

Tamsin's green orbs flitted upward but held no ones gaze. “They've been released...”

“Whom?” Lauren, Bo, and Dyson asked together.

“Things beyond your wildest dreams... or nightmares” The valkyrie whispered to herself while holding her head, her thoughts becoming jumbled as she rapidly thought of them, “There's a reason why mom always does this instead of me. Has Ætta... But those things, they shouldn't have been unleashed yet...”

“What about Trick and Hale,” Kenzi inquired, her eyes turning to Bo, the only other person besides Dyson who had friends or family back on the earthen plane. Sure Lauren liked Hale and Trick, but they weren't particularly friends ever since Hale pulled the Ash-hole card on her only weeks before.

“They seemed to be taking care of themselves quite nicely,” Tamsin replied nonchalantly.

Anger swept through the succubus and she advanced on the valkyrie. “We've been having to deal with the shit you left behind,” she whispered dangerously. Her voice did not waver and she plowed on, “And now that we've finally got to you, you don't offer any answers and on top of that, our _real_ family is being put in danger.”

She never missed a beat. “Do you think I'm like the valkyrie you've been hearing about? Because from what I heard, you never even saw her, not really, until an hour before now.” Tamsin said quietly, her eyes pinned on brown. The succubus' words would not deter her and she continued, “I can tell you right now, I'm not. You can call me whatever you like, and you know, it does kinda suck not being in the family. But I would never allow people you care about to die for my own agenda. You _know_ I'm not like that, Bo.”

The usage of her name from the valkyrie's mouth stopped her dead in her tracks. Her eyes were wide and she grew silent. Lauren, who had been watching the altercation, found Dyson's eyes and nodded her head. Nodding back, the wolf-shifter gently grabbed Bo's arms and offered her his warmth as he hugged her softly.

“Look, all I know is that _that_ shouldn't have been happening for another few hundred centuries,” Tamsin said, her voice low and gruff.

“What was Hale running from, Tamsin?” Lauren asked finally.

The valkyrie shook her head and looked round to her girlfriend- or so she hoped they were still holding that title from everything her fae had put the woman through. A whisper escaped her as she held brown eyes, “The Unholies have been unleashed.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *“Sýna.” is Icelandic for “Reveal.”
> 
> **”Hætta!” is Icelandic for “Stop!”


	9. Blood Boil

 A group of valkyriemaidens were asked, more liked ordered, to take the group of four fae, minus one, to the Great Hall for the feast. They had been asked, most likely by Freyja, to come with ointment and a small bandage much like a band-aid to assist the human, but Tamsin turned that away as all the needed was the basin of ointment that they carried. She had watched as Bo cleaned the wound proficiently and now there was nothing but a small red line as the ointment cleared away any other physical detriment. It wouldn't take more than a few moments to clean and stitch the slight wound together as if Lauren had never been harmed. But they all knew, especially Tamsin, that that was a lie.

After the long and grueling summary of just exactly what an Unholy was, Tamsin's brain was on fire and she much rather thought to be alone before her mother required her presence. What the gang did not know is that the feasting in Lauren's honor for her test could go on literally for days before the newly ordained fae was ordered to prove her worth. Tamsin had not told them about time passing differently there; while it could be only one Earth day revolution, in Asgard-time it would be two and a half. Sure, Tamsin was going to find a way for her friends to get back to their own plane as they had become completely hard to deal with and rambunctious, but that would mean going against her mother- again- and she much rather wished to think of all the options left.

The pads of her fingers pushed to her temple as she watched them leave, and she noticed too slowly that one out of them- a certain blonde doctor- wasn't among them. So when she turned her head and sighed heavily, her delusion of being strong and uncaring left her and she was about to break down from the doctor's stares; there said woman was, her soulful brown eyes on her. The powerful valkyrie stopped in her tracks, but pulled herself together nicely, and halfheartedly smiled.

“What's up, doc?”

There was a shocked expression on the woman's face and she expostulated, “What's up? What's up, Tamsin! So now you're talking to me?”

The angry bite to the doctor's words made the valkyrie wince and she stayed quite. After Lauren had slowly, but surely, calmed and looked as if she wasn't going to say another word, Tamsin continued with a lightweight sarcastic ring to her first few words, “This is a strange sense of déjà vu . You look good. You look _really_ good. Goddesss, _I've missed you_.” Her voice came close to cracking, but she held it in long enough to stop her insane gibberish. She did not want to explain the reason why she thought the doctor looked good was because of what her Purple Eyed demon did to her, turning her into something she did not hate- but she did not love either- and her eyes shut with her roiling thoughts.

“Tamsin-” Lauren choked, her arms flying up as the valkyrie suddenly moved the small space between them and fell into her.

The doctor's hands were around the valkyrie's back, clinging there for dear life for she never wished to let go. Tamsin's nose and lips were in the crevice of the doctor's neck, drinking in her smell and her right hand fingers were in her hair, holding a small clump as she moved her head up into those blonde locks. Warmth passed through them, their bodies connected, and moments were spared just to _be_ with one another. All too soon it passed, but not for these women, oh no.

Just as Tamsin pulled away from her, Lauren's mouth was on hers, tongue darting down and in to taste the woman she had long since missed. Tamsin reciprocated by opening her lips, her own tongue tasting the doctor for the first time in god knew how long. Her hand was still in those blonde locks and Tamsin guided the woman's movements with it. Her left hand was on the doctor's waist while her right moved down to her collarbone, pushing her swiftly away from her and onto the bed.

Lauren watched as the valkyrie's beautiful armor disappeared, clinking off of her like a puzzle cube, and all that was left was an ordinary, though woven in the sense that one knew how old it was, low swooping white shirt with clinging black leather pants. She would have smiled because Tamsin didn't wear what the ordinary attire for Asgard had been, for if anything she should have been wearing a flowing outfit much like a dress or the like, but the thought was quickly wiped from her mind when Tamsin's legs were widened to encompass hers in the middle of them, almost straddling her, and her lips feverishly kissed her again. The doctor's hands flew to play with light blonde hair and they still sat there when the valkyrie pulled away softly yet randomly.

“It's my fault, Lauren. God, it's my fault you're-”

“Shh,” the newly ordained fae hushed. “It's still me. I'm still me, baby.”

A hard lump was swallowed as Tamsin gulped. Tears stung the back of her eyes, and she wanted to laugh at how this fae of a doctor could still bring out the most human qualities from her. “But I-”

“That wasn't you,” Lauren whispered, her hand running down from blonde locks to rest on the valkyrie's waist; her eyes turned upwards as the valkyrie hovered over her. “Nothing that happened to me was your fault, Tamsin.”

Blonde shook hotly in the wind. “But that doesn't excuse what my _body_ did to you. What my _valkyrie_ \- did to you. You don't feel it now, but I know you'll grow to fear me.”

“Don't tell me what to do,” Lauren said less angry than the words portrayed. “I am yours, Tamsin. I will do anything and everything I can for you. The woman that did those things to me was someone you could never be because that person was cold and hateful. You are warm,” her hand squeezed the woman's midsection softly while her other flowed up her body, “and kind,” to her face where she caressed the valkyrie's cheek, “and I love you.”

“How could you love something like me?”

Brown orbs looked into tearful green and she softly pushed a strand of fallen hair away from the valkyrie's eyes before bringing her in to an intoxicating kiss. A kiss that did not just show passion, to not just show love, but to make the valkyrie believe to her very core what the doctor was feeling. A kiss to somehow transcend the material and physical, desperate and flawed, to translate the fae's true understanding of what Tamsin was and what she, _herself_ , had done to her.

Which was nothing but try to give her love in the purest sense of the word.

Tamsin's breath hitched as she felt her throat, raw with tears, constrict around her next words. Her inner wards, the attitude that she used as a front and nothing more, broke apart with that kiss. A kiss that was pure love in the finest sense of the word.

All too soon the doctor pulled away and looked into green eyes, her hands caressing either side of the valkyrie's face. “I. Love. You,” the woman said slowly, definitely, truthfully. “You are not a monster.”

“I-” Tamsin gulped again, “But what if I have to make you go away?”

“You can try,” she said defiantly. “But I'm never going to leave you,” Lauren whispered, her hand falling to hold the valkyrie's midsection again.

Tears welled in the valkyrie's eyes before she swiped them away. “I love you, Lauren. I'll never let you go.”

The words were so unsullied, the real Tamsin, and it made the doctor smile with hope for the woman. Before the valkyrie could pull her in for another kiss, she placed her finger to the woman's lips and said, “Next time, don't be afraid of your emotions. Don't shut me out.”

Tamsin nodded. “I'm sorr-” she shook her head and continued, “I won't do it again.”

A brilliant smile rained over the doctor's features and she let out a sigh of content as their lips crashed together again. Moving in perfect synchronization, the two womens hands were on body parts, their mouths and tongues conjoining. It was hot, feverish, and it tasted so damn good.

Tamsin's hands ran down to the doctor's collarbones again and slightly pushed her down, the woman being all too ready to comply, and she watched as Lauren used her arms to push herself into the center of the bed. Just as swiftly, the valkyrie crawled onto the bed with her, and their mouths locked again but this time, the pads of Lauren's fingers pushed into the fae's shirt and she scratched along the side of the woman's taught stomach.

Slightly moaning, Tamsin brought a hand down to Lauren's wrist and pushed the woman's hand harshly, yet gently, up her shirt and to her unclad breast. The doctor immediately obeyed and started playing with the nipple while Tamsin's knees locked around Lauren's thighs and her hand went into blonde locks. The kiss deepened while the valkyrie's hand reached down to the doctor's shirt hemming and slowly crawled her fingers across skin.

They took only a moment to pull away from each other, trying to catch their breath, before they descended on each other again. This time, Tamsin took the opportunity to get Lauren's shirt off, and she threw it across the bed and onto the floor. A breathless moment was taken by the valkyrie to look down at her lover. She wore a silk black bra but that was not what caught the woman's attention.

Slowly, breath caught in the back of her throat, Tamsin painstakingly dragged her fingers across the small scar on the human-fae's left side, right to the valkyrie. Eyes swelling with pain turned upwards into calming brown, and Tamsin's mouth lowered to kiss the ugly scar that marked her beautiful girlfriend. However, if the valkyrie was being wholly honest, on Lauren, anything looked beautiful.

Lauren's body shivered as Tamsin dragged her lips and tongue over every crevice of her upper body, and she dug the pads of her fingers into light blonde hair as it rested in between her breasts. Tamsin slowly opened, then threw, Lauren's bra in the same direction of her shirt, and a moan escaped the doctor's throat as the valkyrie's tongue darted and encased her nipple. The precision was exact and Tamsin slightly massaged Lauren's other nipple and breast while she worked on the left.

It didn't take long for Lauren's moans to get the better of her, and Tamsin kissed her way upwards to the doctor's luscious pink lips. Slightly holding her jaw with the pad of her hand, Lauren used her right to slowly reach down to the valkyrie's leather pants. Hooking her hands under the hem seemed to prove fruitless, and she regarded them with contempt. Instead, soft nails ran up Tamsin's stomach as she hooked her shirt with her hands, and she was successful in getting the valkyrie's shirt off of her, while Tamsin disconnected from the kiss to do it, and thrown to the floor.

A groan of pleasure escaped the valkyrie as Lauren massaged her breast and Tamsin's tongue flicked and sucked on the doctor's lower lip while she did. Her own hands were playing with the doctor's nipples, and her left slowly caressed downward until she got to the woman's pants. Skillfully unbuttoning them with one hand, Tamsin smiled when her lover gave a small moan of discontent when the valkyrie moved away from her.

Her smirk did not waver as she kissed down the doctor's body and she trailed a hand down when she unzipped her pants slowly. While she pulled them down, her body lowered and kissed her doctor's black laced panties and thighs, and she did not stop until the jeans were completely off of her. Swiftly tracing the path she had just made after getting rid of the jeans, Tamsin's hot tongue trailed up the woman's thighs and to her panty line again.

The doctor smiled and moaned when the panties were finally removed from the grueling torture Tamsin had put her through with her teasing, but the valkyrie would not let her off just yet. She blew slightly on Lauren's sex and watched as the good doctor squirmed with desire, her hands on her stomach while her eyes locked with Tamsin's, and hot lips were on the woman's thighs leaving sloppy kisses on her flesh. Every time the valkyrie trailed downward, just to the woman's center, she would brush over it with a small blow of breath, and start on the other thigh.

It was maddening. But damn it, it felt so good.

Lauren's patience was tested to the brim as she felt her core overload with stimulation, and it didn't take long before she whimpered.

“What was that,” Tamsin asked, her right hand lowering on the human's apex of her stomach; her left hovering above her lover's thigh.

“Tamsin,” Lauren choked out, “please.”

The valkyrie smirked and she kissed the woman's lower stomach where her hand was placed. “What's the magic word?”

There was a pause and then the human smiled coyly. “Isotopes?”

Tamsin's brilliant smirk marked her lips which outmatched anything Lauren had ever seen, before it was gone and the valkyrie's head was in between her legs. A moan escaped the doctor's lips far sooner than she thought it would as she felt Tamsin's tongue run the length of her. Her lips wrapped around the nub of her clit and it wasn't long before the doctor's thighs raised off of the bed and her hands reached down to try to grab hold of blonde hair.

“Tamsin!” Lauren cried as the valkyrie's tongue ran inside of her, then flicked out to her clit again.

Moans escaped the doctor as she played with blonde locks, the feeling in her lower stomach growing tighter and tighter as Tamsin proceeded. It was too soon over after the valkyrie again swirled her tongue inside of Lauren's cunt and over the nub, and it took gracious amounts of self control on Lauren's part to not squeeze her lover's head in between her thighs. Slight convulsions took the doctor and she smiled when she felt Tamsin's lips and warm breath ascend her body. They stopped at her neck, Tamsin's legs straddling her again, and Lauren felt her nipples being played with while the valkyrie went to work on kissing and licking every inch she could find on the doctor's throat.

A moan of content escaped her as she, again, hooked her hands down to Tamsin's pants, and this time, the valkyrie moved to her side and laid on the bed so that Lauren could take them off herself. The doctor took full advantage and immediately straddled her partner. She threw the pants away but instead of running her lips down onto the valkyrie's body, she simply looked her up and down.

“You're beautiful,” she whispered, her brown orbs scavenging her lover's body with care to mark every small indentation and crevice. She was not happy until she knew she would be able to find every mark in the dark, and it wasn't until she was completely content did she descend.

It did not take her long to make Tamsin cry out with pleasure, as her skill matched her valkyrie's or even excelled it. Her tongue ran up the fae's thigh after making her come for the first time, and she looked into green eyes after watching how Tamsin's hand, which was clenched below some pillows, slowly disentangled itself from them. Lauren smiled when hands were outstretched to her, inviting her to lay on top of the valkyrie.

The human-fae complied and she felt a small pang go through her lower stomach when her nipples brushed against Tamsin's as she lowered herself down onto her body. Warmth passed through them both by not just their bodies, but their hearts, and lips connected along with tongues. Before Lauren lost herself completely in such intoxicating antics, her right hand traveled down Tamsin's midsection, below her own leg as she was straddling the valkyrie, and down to the woman's cunt.

Tamsin moaned into the kiss when Lauren slowly slid her finger the length of her, and it made the doctor smile. Her left hand tangled itself into blonde locks and Lauren slowly detached from the kiss long enough to look into Tamsin's eyes. She felt her own sex brush against Tamsin's stomach as she moved her entire body along with her arm, and she slowly pushed her finger insides the delectable folds.

Lauren smiled with victory when the valkyrie's eyes closed tightly and her head rolled back, and the doctor took the opportunity to kiss along the woman's strong neck. She held the conjunction of the woman's neck and jaw in her left hand while she kissed the right side of her throat, and she rode the valkyrie as she placed another finger into her folds.

Circling, friction, glorious friction made the valkyrie cry out with pleasure as Lauren ground against her, the doctor's sex hitting Tamsin's lower stomach every so often that made her hitch in a breath, and she loved the way that the fae's cunt tightened against her. Slipping in a third finger made Tamsin scream “Yes!” while her hands went to either side of Lauren's hips and suddenly bucked upwards.

The doctor gasped with such movement, hitting exactly where she needed it to, and she curled her fingers inside of her lover while her thumb brushed against the woman's sex. She was almost there, standing on the precipice, and Tamsin let out a feral scream as she moaned again when Lauren brushed over her clit. Her breath caught in her throat as her moans turned into soft hitches of breath, and she ground into Lauren again just as she was pushed over the edge.

Both women came together, tumbling and breathing heavily, their hearts in synch along with their bodies and Lauren's forehead laid gently on Tamsin's collarbone. Removing her hand from inside her lover, the doctor slowly raised her head to look at the valkyrie. Soft and beautiful eyes peered back at her, and Lauren smiled with love. Tamsin gently tugged her upward and the doctor complied as her lips were parted again and she fell into a kiss. Their hearts fluttered with their love and their minds were set at ease.

It was not the valkyrie laying beneath her that had done such terrible things to her. It was not the fae who had imprisoned her and hated her. This was Tamsin. The beautiful, loving, wonderful Tamsin. Lauren's eyes looked into those green with flecks of brown for minutes longer until she continued the slow and passionate kiss.

She was with the valkyrie at last.

+++

“Tamsin,” Lauren whispered after they had been laying there for a few moments.

The valkyrie's right arm was around the doctor's lithe body and she lowered her head. “Yes?”

“My fae... do you know what it is?”

It took her a moment, but finally the valkyrie responded, “Yes.”

“It's going to consume me, isn't it.” It wasn't a question and Lauren laughed humorously. “At least I would have had you again before the end.”

Tamsin's left hand lowered below the woman's chin and she swiftly raised her head to look her in the eyes. “You are not going to die, Lauren. Not by my mother's test and not by this fae.”

The doctor seemed to whimper before she whispered, “You don't understand. I was built to be a doctor. To protect people. This fae, all she wants is destruction and chaos. To feel as if she has been adequately acknowledged for her role. I can feel it roiling inside and I feel as if I'm going to be lost.”

“And I was built to be nothing but a soldier.” Tamsin cut in, her green orbs pouring into brown. “But sooner, rather than later, we have to outgrow what we were built for. If you don't, this test will take you from me.”

“I don't want that,” Lauren breathed, her index finger playing with Tamsin's bottom lip. “Why can't things just be like they were before?”

“You and I fighting and being childish?” Tamsin inquired, a smile playing on her features.

Lauren laughed. “Yes, exactly like that. At least then everything made sense.”

There was a pause before, “It's not going to get any easier, is it?”

Blonde locks bounced in the wind as Lauren shook her head. “We can still make the best of it.”

“Says the girl that was just crying over letting someone suppress her again.”

Brown orbs flickered with fire. “The one good thing the other Tamsin did was take my dog collar off.” As if subconsciously, the doctor lowered her hand to trace an invisible line where a necklace once lay.

Tamsin grabbed hold of the doctor's hand and kissed it gently. “I'm sorry I wasn't there for you.”

“But you were,” Lauren confirmed. “I felt you, the _real_ you, with me. Watching. Protecting in anyway you knew how. I'm sorry that you had to see what she did to me.”

A humorless laugh escaped Tamsin's lips. “How gracious is that to apologize to me for something my shell did to you. You are so very Canadian.”

Lauren feigned insult. “You don't say!”

The two women laughed as they held each other tightly. Their breath became matched again after a moment, and Tamsin kissed the top of the doctor's head.

“The others will wonder where we are,” Lauren said at last.

“It depends,” Tamsin stated bluntly.

“On what?”

“Once one enters the Great Hall and eats the food of the Kingdom, it takes a strong fae to be able to pull themselves out of it.” When the human-fae seemed lost, Tamsin continued, “Time passes differently up here. While only one day passes on Earth, two passes here. While in Odin's hall, it's completely reversed with only one day passing here but two back on the Earthen Plane.”

“So they could have been eating for an hour and a half and they wouldn't even know?”

“Exactly. That's what the food does to people not of this realm. It's more potent here, which is why I could give you mead of Valhölland it not have any side effects on you; like losing time.”

Lauren quieted to contemplate this and finally said, “If these Unholies are attacking Earth, bringing on a premature Ragnarök event, then why can't we leave now and help Hale and Trick?”

“Like I told you earlier,” Tamsin sighed, “I'd have to ask mother for permission to open a portal back down to Earth. Since you cannot open one yourself, only relying on your Seraphim, and because you can't leave yet, it'll only be Bo, Kenzi, and Dyson who are able to go. Hopefully that will make Freyja more attuned to agreeing that their departure should not just be required but necessary.”

It was strange hearing speak their rightful names separately, but Lauren overlooked this as she thought of the next step. “Then we should go,” she finally said. “Maybe if we let them go back down, finish the test up here, they'll be more prepared for what's coming.”

Tamsin nodded, her violent thoughts of their friends' death crossing her mind only once before she allowed Lauren to raise off of her and find her clothing. The valkyrie sat up, her right hand digging into the mattress as she leaned to one side, and she looked at the good doctor as she got dressed.

“I don't know what the test holds for you, Lauren,” she said quietly. “It's different for everyone. And since you are not actually Valkyrja...”

“Tamsin,” Lauren said firmly, looking back at the fae after getting on her bra and jeans, “I will pass this and we're going to be okay. I'll get your shell out of Valhalla and we're going to live our lives as _we_ choose.”

The valkyrie did not ask how Lauren knew of her predicament, but she did not need to. True, there had never been a fae and human splice before in all the long years she had been alive, but it was obvious Lauren's Seraphim was feeding her information subconsciously. It wasn't much of a bad thing than a strange one, and the valkyrie overlooked it much as she did before when Lauren had mentioned her valkyrie sister slaying a Jötunn.

“You intend to fight?” Tamsin asked, her eyes growing lighter as she saw the fire burning in her lover.

Lauren pulled down her shirt with such force, it would have outspokenly stated her intentions, before she looked into green orbs. “I intend to win.”


	10. Blood Curdle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You could ask for naked baby pictures, but I doubt you'll get any. Pictures aren't really a thing up here.”  
> “I'm sure she'd have her ways. A portal to the past would show me all I need.”

Leather straps snapped into place on the forearm as the Seraphim walked side by side of the valkyrie briskly down the corridor. Blonde hair strayed behind her in the wind as she turned a corner and stepped into the room separating all others. The familiar marble statue raised high into the air and the woman took the time to look up to the valkyrie and the beheaded Jötnar as her lover strapped in her other arm with leather and then metal.

"Tamsin?"

The valkyrie gave a hesitant reply, "Hmm?" Her attention was solely turned on the armor she was placing on and around the doctor and her brow furrowed in concentration.

Brown eyes lowered to try to find green, but the valkyrie's eyes were still looking toward the twisted metal. The fae had been placing the heavy, yet equally lightweight plating- though Lauren doubted Tamsin thought it heavy as she was accustomed to it- on her person since they exited the room. It was strange to see as the armor and restraints Tamsin was putting on her person appeared out of nowhere in her palm, and it amazed the doctor the abilities the valkyrie possessed. Instead of reacting, or asking about that specific thing, Lauren asked, "Can you explain why I have to wear your armor? Wouldn't it be more beneficial if I wore some spare armor or my Seraphim's?"

"Your seraph has it's own armor- much like mine- but we can't rely or have hope it'll help you in the test. This is the only definite way that I can be sure you'll be protected... if only physically. Besides, my armor was ordained by the gods, smithed and smoldered by Weyland himself."

Lauren chose to look over the implication of power the name of the blacksmith held, and said, "By putting me in your armor..."  _It'll protect me. Maybe even cheat me out of death._

"Yeah, like that," the valkyrie smiled as she bent down and made sure the middle piece of her own armor was tightened about the doctor's chest and waist; pulling it lightly to make sure it wouldn't fall off. The red sash ran down in two tails and it looked even better on the doctor than on the valkyrie herself.

The human-fae gave a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Not to sound like a worry-wart, but what will your mother think of this?"

Tamsin smiled, not at Lauren, but the armor. "Didn't know you cared so much."

"It's your mother, Tamsin."

The valkyrie stopped her inspection of the shin guards and raised herself up and moved to stand opposite of the doctor. "Oh... the tradition-thing."

A laugh escaped her throat and Lauren said, "Yes, the tradition thing."

Scratching her fingers through her unhindered cascading hair, Tamsin raised her hand and let it fall to her side. "Weren't you suppose to ask for her hand or something?"

"I know you know that I know you're playing dumb."

"Damn, your smarts far exceed mine, doc." A moment passed as Lauren looked at her with raised eyebrows and Tamsin shook her head and shrugged. "My mom's not really..." When Tamsin's eyes shifted left to right and her face matched that of a schoolgirls' she spoke again, "Ya know."

"Traditional?"

"You know exactly what to say." Tamsin smiled and shrugged again. "You could  _ask_  for naked baby pictures, but I doubt you'll get any. Pictures aren't really a thing up here."

"I'm sure she'd have her ways. A portal to the past would show me all I need."

Tamsin laughed and allowed herself to feel at ease even in the dire situation they found themselves in. She was leading her lover to virtually her own death- or what  _could_  be her death- and yet the doctor was laughing, joking, and smiling with her now. Wasn't that all that mattered? All that she should care about? Her mother could put her through the hardest test she could think about, hell if only it could be a battle of wits, Tamsin was sure Lauren would win at least that. But physical, battle, harming another... no, she didn't think the good doctor could get through that. Would she pull through if Freyja gave her the option of surviving or death, and the only way to live was to murder another?

Shaking her head, her frown became a halfhearted smile. "I'm sure if you ask nicely she'll give you a peek."  _Or you could ask your Seraphim, who can look into the past..._

Lauren frowned, her brow furrowing as if she had heard something that she didn't quite understand, but her face cleared into its natural state and she smiled. "How do you think the others are faring?"

Picking back up their pace, just a room away from the Great Hall, Tamsin replied sarcastically and flamboyantly, "Probably getting insatiably fat off the great food of the Kingdom."

_"Og vi skåler for våre venner og de som vi kjenner-"*_

"Food is a must, but what about celebration? I read that-"

_"-og de som vi ikke kjenner, de driter vi i, hei skål!"*_

Holding up her hand, Tamsin cut her girlfriend off, "Wreath and candles on the head of some and shields and weapons drawn most of the time; yeah. A downright amazing celebration of the highest caliber."

_"Og så svinger vi på seidelen igjen, hei skål!"*_

"You don't sound very excited over it," Lauren responded.

"Having to do this year after year... it gets kinda boring, doc. And then going to the ones  _Odin_  hosts. Talk about nightmare central having to get along with brothers and sisters, and the freakin' Jötnar. They always boast about something stupid, then here comes Loki and Thor getting pissy, then a mission to Jotunheim." A smile played on the valkyrie's lips as she halted in her steps, and she said in a very sneaky voice, "Though I really liked those secret trips to their realm."

"...Loki and Thor are your brothers? And you don't mean a Loki, right- you mean  _the_  Loki. The god of trickery and games and-"

Tamsin smiled. Her melodious laughter filled the changing hall, it's colors were lessening from bone white to bronze and wooden features, and Tamsin side-eyed her lover. Shrugging, she said, "Very distant brothers."

"Do..." Lauren bit and licked her lips, rolling the question around in her mind before really speaking. It was Tamsin's raised eyebrows and bending of the head to try to find the doctor's eyes that broke her spirit, and she finally spoke hurriedly, "Do you think I could meet them?"

The valkyrie was speechless as she raised to her full height, her finger going to her cheek to ponder. Her words were seeped in devious secrecy, "Meet 'em, huh?"

When Lauren blushed slightly and nodded her head, Tamsin burst out laughing. Crimson washed over the doctor's cheeks even brighter and she planted her hand on her lover's shoulder and pushed. The valkyrie's laughter still echoed throughout the otherwise quite hall- the knowledge that was coursing through her brain of how the human-fae actually made her stumble backwards instead of a futile push, staggard her but she continued to laugh- and Lauren's body was close to the woman when she pushed her again, but gasped as her arm was caught and she was pulled.

A hand played with the strands of hair, head in breasts, as Tamsin laughed, "I'm sure they'd love to meet you, doc."

"Yoghanplaygingaheitngme-"

"Huh?" Tamsin allowed the blonde planted in her breasts to come up for air and smiled when the doctor made a face of dissatisfaction. Rolling her eyes, she was able to be a child sometimes, she waited for her lover to repeat.

A pout and then, "You're just playing with me, Tamsin!"

"No, no, seriously," Tamsin sang as she put her left hand onto her lover's shoulder while her right still played with blonde locks. "If we seem them anytime soon, I'll introduce you."

"...How long has it been since you've seen your brothers?"

Twirling fingers stopped their dance and Tamsin did not speak for a time. Then, before Lauren could try to fix her obvious mistake of asking about them, the valkyrie replied, "When valkyries are on the Earthen plane, it's not like a two way channel to Asgard. There are certain... portals, kinda, scattered around the world- one of which is where we live, but to enter there..."

Tamsin grew quite and her eyes seemed to focus on something not quite in front of her. Instead of staying in the dark recesses of her mind, the valkyrie shook it off and smiled brightly, hoping Lauren would not ask her where she traveled to. Nodding towards the hall, she turned her lover by the shoulders and made her face the wooden bronze of the doors to the Feasting Hall.

"The Great Hall will hold only a handful of valkyries for this specific feast. They're going to be almost as strong as me when I've been reborn, and just as strong as the succubus most likely."

Tamsin only hoped her guestamation was correct, for if things went bad and she needed the Scooby Gang to hightail it out of there, she really hoped Bo could hold her own against a valkyrie. It was most likely folly, she thought, as all Tamsin's kinswomen would have to do is look at her and she was- zoinks!- outta there.

"She's gotten that strong," Lauren whispered. "Strong enough to hinder a valkyrie."

Tamsin could understand the doctor's admiration, and she replied, "A valkyrie is only weakest when they've been reborn. They're... well," Tamsin wondered if she should speak the full truth of a reborn valkyrie but decided against it, "just very weak in comparison."

"For how long?"

"Uh, about three weeks to a month."

"But those valkyries in there aren't reborn."

"No, that's not correct." Tamsin loved the look on Lauren's face as it scrunched in irritation and confusion at her wrong answer. "Valkyries up here are always in a state of reborn. They stay forever young and unhindered. They never die, they're not in a state of decay at all. They're at their top peak right about now, but only for a short time. That time comes and passes every day or so. It just kinda forgets to kill them first, so they're always grown and remembering." The valkyrie looked into her lover's eyes, hopeful the woman had dismissed her last few words with confusion, and whispered, "Somehow, a new hybrid like you can take them out, I can only guess the succubus has progressed to that stage."

Tamsin kept the part of most of her valkyrie sisters being at full strength when Lauren had attacked them, but not at this moment in the feasting hall, and she hoped Bo would be able to, if things went from bad to super bad, incapacitate her share of valkyries in their weakened state. Hell, maybe even her old partner could find the strength.

"Are you ready?"

Lauren's voice was strong, but her answer hesitant, "I'm ready."

The valkyrie's body turned towards the doctor's, and her hand connected with soft flesh. Bringing their lips together, Tamsin tasted her lover for what she hoped was not the last time, and smiled into it as Lauren's hands took residence on the valkyrie's midsection.

What felt like eternity later, Lauren's hand raised and held onto Tamsin's. Breaking the kiss slowly, the doctor's heart fluttering when she saw Tamsin's tongue dart out slightly and taste her lips, Lauren softly proclaimed, "I'm ready, Tamsin."

Slowly, painstakingly, Tamsin raised her eyes to the Great Hall's doors and nodded. "I know, doc. I know."

Hands clasped together, the Valkyrie led the Seraphim to the wooden doors, and pushed the seemingly heavy fixtures with ease open.

A strong chorus of voices raised up as the doors opened, a gust of cool air raining through their hair effortlessly, and Tamsin's green eyes looked around a long and luscious table. Her actions ceased, and her orbs slowly raised to hazel when a strong voice filled the hall as hands were raised.

"Let it begin!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *"Og vi skåler for våre venner og de som vi kjenner, og de som vi ikke kjenner, de driter vi i, hei skål! Og så svinger vi på seidelen igjen, hei skål!" Is a Norwgian drinking song and it translates to something like- "And we toast to our friends and those we know, and those we don't know we don't give a shit about, hey cheers! And so we're taking the neighbor's wife home, hey cheers!"


	11. Bad Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh," Kenzi cleared her throat as if she was scared, "Tam Tam told us about- Odin was it? Is he your pops too?"
> 
> A deathly silence descended upon the hall...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been too long and this chapter is too short! I'm sorry that you've had to wait this long, please lessen the fruit throwing and the cheers of 'boo'. I will be hoping to continue this sometime soon and not have y'all left on cliffhangers and crazy bits. I hope you enjoy!

Tamsin had to slowly press her hand against Lauren's back to get her moving. The seraph had stood there after Freyja's booming voice reached her, and her eyes scavenged the Great Hall. Kenzi, Dyson and Bo were sitting side by side at the end of a golden table filled with foods from across the world. The succubus sat next to the goddess, and Dyson didn't seem to really care he was sitting next to a powerful valkyrie rather than the food he was currently stuffing his face with. The valkyries, their beautiful armor glistening, pointed with handfuls of food towards him, and they clanked down their wooden mugs in celebration of his brazen habits.

"Don't worry about him," Tamsin whispered as they entered the hall. "He'll eat until he can't anymore. That's the purpose of this."

"To be full to satisfaction before going into battle!" Freyja interrupted, her hazel eyes pinned on her new welcomed guests. "Come, sit next to me, powerful Lauren. We have much to discuss."

They had moved to the table now, walking slowly past valkyrie after valkyrie. Lauren counted twelve valkyries feasting and chuckling. She wondered where Þrúðr was.

_She is recovering from the attack earlier in the day._

Lauren flinched. How could she have forgotten such violence? And at her hand.

"Actually, mother," Tamsin was saying next to her as they walked to their designated seats, "I would like to-"

"Hush, daughter. It is a feast for your mate. There will be no sullied jolly here."

"The Unholies won't wait for us to stuff our faces, Freyja," Tamsin pressed.

Hazel eyes slowly slid to green. The lean valkyrie's body slowly folded back into her great chair and she looked up at her daughter with fire behind her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, probably to cast such a irruptive guest out of the Great Hall and go on without her. But that would mean, Lauren thought, that Tamsin wouldn't be able to see her go through the test. And if she didn't have Tamsin, how in the world was she going to come out alive?

"Maybe," Lauren said, sitting down and swaying her head to signal Tamsin to do the same, "We can start the test soon. Back on earth something is happening. We have family down there," Lauren reiterated as hazel coolly slid to her. Looking across from her, she spotted Bo looking down at her food as if she wanted to eat, but chose against it and she looked up into the seraphim's eyes. Lauren smiled kindly. It was a blessing to see a small smirk cross the succubus' lips and her heart seemed to stall as she looked down to see what delicious flavors her nostrils were flaring for.

Her eyes tore from the smoked lamb in front of her, instead of an apple in its mouth it sported a spit, when Freyja's melodious laugh filled the hall.

"Seraphim, you are brazen! Will you next ask me to create a portal for your guests?"

Tamsin was obviously stunned at her question as her brow furrowed and she looked to her mother, then the valkyries laughing jollily down the table. It was apparent their moods were only slightly plastered on their faces, and in truth they were listening intently to the discussion happening at the head of the golden table.

War or no war. That was indeed the question.

Lauren took the shock with ease, either by watching diplomats entering the Light compound for years or her new found strength, not even she knew. "If you were listening to our conversation, then you know exactly why we think they should go back in this dire situation."

Freyja twirled a small piece of rye bread around her fingers. "The test is a special occasion for every fae child who has broken my law. Do you also wish me to only allow those present to witness such a thing?"

"I do not wish to rewrite your rules, goddess. I simply wish to protect the people I love. I am sure you can understand." When Freyja didn't respond as she looked deep in contemplation, Lauren continued, "Allow them to go back and fight against the Unholies. If they lose the city, then by all means even if I win your test, I'll stay here as all valkyries must. But at least give us a chance down there."

Tamsin attention deterred slightly from the insane conversation happening before her, Freyja stopped suddenly and looked intently into Lauren's eyes, when the raven haired girl opposite her spoke up for the first time that dinner as she looked to the valkyrie maidens.

"Oh," Kenzi cleared her throat as if she was scared, "Tam Tam told us about- Odin was it? Is he your pops too?"

A deathly silence descended upon the hall, even Freyja and Lauren turned toward the conversation. A plethora of eyes shifted swiftly to the young ignorant girl as if she were nothing more than talking meat.

Tamsin laughed nervously, though her own green orbs frantically looked around her sisters. "The human only jests, sisters!" she said, her hand going to her sister sitting beside her to make sure she stayed in her seat.

"Quite a jest," Þrimagrumbled, her hand somewhere below the table on an invisible weapon.

Freyja's attention was diverted and she smiled wickedly, her finger playing with the corner of her mouth as she rested her hand on her cheek. "They are my daughters," she said to the starstruck Kenzi, "Odin is not the Supreme Being that has the only sway over life. Tamsin is the only exception in this hall."

If it was possible, Kenzi seemed to shrink into herself even more, and she played with a piece of dried fish in front of her, though she did not eat it. "Right-o..." Bo placed a hand on her shoulder and Kenzi made a small show of brushing the altercation off.

Freyja pointed to Kenzi as she said, "She is strong. Her lover is back on earth?"

"At Þrúðr's hand," Tamsin said.

The goddess nodded and lowered her head in thought. Looking back up to her valkyries, the hazel beauty extended her hand and boomed, "They may go. But know this," she included as she looked to a relieved Lauren, "the blood die has now been rolled. All of them may not survive."

Lauren's throat constricted at the choice of words and the Morrigan's own came barreling into her mind. How had she known all this? Did she have connection to this place somehow? Instead of wondering any longer, she simply nodded her head as much as she could with the shock, and looked over to the guests.

Bo and Kenzi looked genuinely afraid, and Dyson was slowly coming out of his haze as his stomach was finally filled.

"Are you willing to make such a sacrifice?" Freyja inquired.

"I-I can't speak for them," Lauren whispered, looking to the trio of friends. She couldn't ask them to die. Not for her and not for anyone.

A hand fell onto the table and the scratching of the chair pegs clattered across the floor as Bo stood up. Brown looked to hazel and she replied, "I protect my family. Last time I saw them they were in some trouble. So to answer your question: yes, I would die for them. A million times over."

"A succubus who's heart is both lustful yet virtuous. It is a strong feature to have," Freyja said, her voice raising in slight awe at the woman before her. "You and yours have my blessing. May you survive this conflict."

"May we say our goodbyes?" Lauren asked, slightly struck by the goddess' kind ruling. When Freyja nodded her head, Lauren swiftly- while Tamsin slowly- raised from their seats and walked across the table. "Kenzi, be smart," she said, "stick next to Bo and Dyson and keep an eye out for Hale. And Dyson-"

"Doc," the wolf-shifter said, his eyes slightly glazed and his smile broad, "we'll see you when you're done up here."

"This isn't the end," Tamsin was saying to Bo as the others talked amongst themselves. "I'm sorry Freyja won't do anything else to help."

Bo shook her head. "It's not her place, we're capable of fighting this threat. It isn't the end," she repeated the valkyrie, "not by a long shot, Tamsin." There was a pause before, "You keep her safe up here."

"I promise you I will."

"I'll hold you to that when you get down there."

Tamsin slowly, as she talked, encompassed Bo in a tight hug at the succubus' surprise. "Please don't die."

"Hey," Bo said, smiling as Tamsin released her from the hug and she held her hands on her shoulders, "it's us we're talking about. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Famous last words," Dyson said as he came behind them, saving a shocked Tamsin from having to formulate words.

"Okay! I'm ready!" Kenzi said, her body fulled of jitters and her toes prancing across the ground.

"Um, you probably need this before you go," Lauren laughed, picking up a small horn from the table. They had fitted a small cork on in, and the doctor held it by its leather strap to the girl. "Drink from here," Lauren explained, "so you won't suffer from cell degradation after going through the portal."

Kenzi's eyes widened and she snatched the horn away from outstretched hands. "Because that was so awesome the first time!" she almost cheered.

Lauren's eyes lowered and she smiled kindly. "I'm going to miss that."

The girl looked up from the horn to Lauren's downcast eyes and she raised a comforting hand to the doctor's arm. "Not for long. You're going to win this, Lauren. And you're going to kick ass. We'll see you again."

A smile. "I hope so, Kenz."

Freyja clapped her hands, making all participants look to her, and she smiled to her guests. "It is time."

The friends nodded and turned to one another, giving last goodbyes filled with hugs and promises. They were not aware how the valkyrie-maidens who sat at the table were looking at them with awe of their strong emotions for others who were not blood tied to them.

Slowly, Freyja lifted her hand and waved it in front of her. Simultaneously, a portal of blue, green, and purple appeared behind the trio.

"Be safe," Lauren said as she watched the last wave from her family as they turned and slowly walked to the portal. "Be safe!" she called again as their bodies disappeared into the roiling surface of the watery surface. "Please," she whispered as Tamsin held onto her shoulder comfortingly.

The moment was ended swiftly, as everything had been since their arrival there, as Freyja stood at the head of the table. All valkyries immediately stopped eating or drinking and stood at attention, wooden spears suddenly appearing next to them.

"Now the test begins!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those that have seen this on ff, this is an old chapter that I recently discovered was not posted on Archive. I am trying to get my motivation back up again, so I am hoping this will help. Thank you all for your support!


	12. Blood Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The blood die has been rolled and it looks like no one from the Sunshine gang will survive Lauren's baleful choice. Peril, mischief, pain! Who will come out alive? {1950's sitcom voice}

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still need to find my niche in writing this again... But I hope you all enjoy it for what it is.

Weary feet carried poor Dr. Lauren Lewis over the baseboards of her stairs. She was tired, stinking of every form of ammonia and chloride, and she longed for the warm release of a hot bath. She relished in the thought of bathing her body, of basking her feet in the pool of water, and it soothed her even before she could pull off her professional blouse and tight skirt. After, she could curl into bed next to her gorgeous wife and drift into a peaceful and not so proverbial sleep.

She blinked as a cold feeling of dread pooled at the pit of her stomach. She did not have a wife.

“This feels like the Dawning,” she commented, looking over the room that was identical to her own.

_It won't try to trick you like the Temple. But it can have the will to trap you here._

“So you're still here,” Lauren replied to the voice in her head- her Seraphim. She hated to admit it, but the familiar voice soothed her mind slightly.

_I cannot very well leave you, Doctor. For now you should go along with whatever this test provides. Sleep while you can._

“I don't think I could calm my mind down enough to...” Lauren couldn't finish the sentence as before she could utter the last few words, her eyes drooped down and she fell fast asleep.

A melodious hum cascaded over Lauren, waking her softly from slumber, her body physically becoming attuned to the beautiful refrain much like a flower's strain towards a source of music. Her breathing became in sync with the song, it rising and falling to the beat, and a small smile appeared on her lips; forgetting for a moment where she was and hoping this captivating song was from the throat of her lover. She continued to listen until a soft finger languidly traveled down through her hair to caress her cheek. The smile became wider as Lauren's delicate hand raised to hold onto the other, and slowly she opened her eyes.

What she found was not what she was expecting, to say the least.

“Now I know this isn't real!” Lauren exclaimed as Evony's fingers curled into her hair again.

“Shh, darling.” A knee moved to the doctor's crotch. “I'll handle the rest.”

Lauren felt something clack together in her pocket as both legs were forced upward onto the bed. She wondered if whatever in her pocket was a totem of help from Tamsin, immediately wondering also where her armor was, before she pushed Evony off of her quickly. Shaking her head, placing a hand to her temple, Lauren looked over to where she pushed Evony to and saw nothing but the silk threads of her sheets.

“You said it wouldn't try to trick me,” Lauren said, getting off of the bed quickly and looking about her room.

_It cannot alter your mind for I am here. You have seen through the ruse swiftly and without falter._

“In other words it's still going to try to trick me, but since it can't it'll try other ways.” Lauren rolled her eyes, a half smile appearing on her lips, before shaking her head and looking into her side table drawers. Slamming it shut she huffed out a breath and rubbed her temple. “What am I supposed to be doing?”

_What is in your pocket?_

A light bulb flicked on in the doctor's head as she remembered the clacking she heard moments before. Fishing around in her pocket, Lauren's brow furrowed as her fingers pressed the strange cubes between the knuckles and pulled. She cocked her head when she brought what she held to eye level, quirking her brow as she wordlessly asked why a pair of blood red die were in her pocket. There were a strange pair, they malformed from a pair of usual looking die, and she sat on her bed as she looked them both over. Either one only went up to the number three, small stenciled bones showing the number instead of the usual white dot, and she hummed a question as she looked on.

The air rushed from her lungs as she fell backwards. Blinking furiously, looking around her, all she could see was a thick blackness. Wherever she was at was devoid of light and as she breathed out in a plethora of coughs, Lauren found there was no sound here either. Even for a split second of not hearing something that  _should_ be audible felt like eternity and it was all Lauren had to try to calm her breathing. She couldn't hear her heartbeat, couldn't feel air flowing over her arms, nor could she even feel when she bit into her own lip.

Just as she thought she would snap, an explosion of light and a clanking boom exploded in the area. As suddenly as sensation was taken from her, it swept over her in waves again- practically skewering her with radiance.

Ragged breathing filled her ears as Lauren turned slowly. Her eyes squinted at the light, it being painful now, trying to make out what was standing inside of its rays. With eyes watering, she tried to walk forward but a tug on her body told her not to move. Instead she shook her head as if to clear it, before realizing something wet was in her right palm.

Bending her head downward, Lauren almost screamed and threw the pair of die that were now literally  _bleeding_ onto her. The lurid liquid swathed over her palm and hit the dark ground, it seeming to be absorbed there.

_Choose._

Lauren looked back up as another boom resounded in the room, it scaring the hell out of her again. This time it was slightly easier to make out there was, in fact, a shape inside of the light that looked to be that of a human. Just as quickly as that light appeared, the person unmoving as if the light was a physical barrier, another and then another came into view. There were six in total all splayed out side by side to each other.

The command from her Seraphim came again. Scoffing Lauren asked, “Why? Who are they?”

As if to answer her question, making Lauren jump, static seemed to clap through the air beside her as a portal appeared. It was similar to the mirror portal Tamsin had created in her chambers just a few hours previously and it showed the Dal Riata and the inhabitants there. They seemed haggard as if they had not slept or bathed in days, and they had their weapons brandished as if they were about to go to war. As Lauren looked on, it was as if the portal followed them outside to continue to show the doctor those back on Earth's progression, she saw the streets lined with filth and bodies.

Gasping Lauren saw many buildings either crumpled to dust or their windows broken in and unoccupied. Some even had bodies hanging from them, as if they were trying to escape something, and as the portal followed her friends, she realized they had caught the attention of things crawling out of the shadows. They looked emaciated, their ribs poking painfully from lithe flesh, and their eyes burned like fire. Their skin was black as coal and their lips rose up into that of jagged teeth. As Lauren stared at them, it seemed as if they disappeared into a void and pulled the onlooker in with them. She feared if she stared any longer she would go mad from such pain, and Lauren wondered how Bo, Kenzi, Dyson and the rest of the gang could possibly fight them.

_Choose!_

“Choose what,” Lauren cried, shocked again by the sudden scream of her Seraphim. She would have continued to watch the ongoings of the battle as it unfolded- first with Bo's newfound sword slicing open one of the creatures- if not for the opaque lights in the room suddenly becoming transparent.

Her eyes widened as her head swung back and forth from the portal to those standing in the light. She knew these people. She loved these people. What-

_Choose which of your family will die..._

+++

 

“That isn't happening... is it?” Tamsin turned, asking her mother with worry furrowing her brow.

Freyja turned her gaze from the circular mirror-portal watching Lauren's test and bent her head low. “No, daughter, the carnage is not so rampant yet. Your prodigy is still dealing with your father and has not released the Abominations yet.” The proud woman lifted her head and squinted towards the portal. “No, tis the future she sees now. What may come to pass, what will, or perhaps you will be able to stop this all before it begins.”

Tamsin stepped around the mirror as her mother spoke and to Lauren's side. The human-fae was laying on the cleaned long table they were once eating from, her body motionless and defenseless. She grabbed Lauren's soft hand and held it for a moment, putting it to her lips with care. “What is this supposed to do?”

“Quite simply, daughter, to see if she is strong enough to choose who will die in the coming war. The blood die has already been set in motion, all she must do is continue it on its course.”

“A Seraphim is strong as you are strong, but it's not possible to decide what the future will hold. Seeing into it, sure, but actually manipulating it...”

A wry smile appeared on Freyja's lips. “Do you not agree that seeing into the future will make one inevitably choose to change it?”

“Of course.”

“Then do you also think, if she survives, she will have a stronger constitution to protect those she is condemning?”

“She already has that, mom.”

Freyja pouted and shook her head, watching as the human-fae accidentally dropped the slippery die. It landed on four and almost instantaneously the one known as Hale's light flickered out. On Lauren's portal she was forced to watch the poor man be mangled to death by the unholy monsters. He tried to use his Siren whistle but to no avail as he was overrun, his lover calling out to him with terrified screams. She began to hack away at flesh, trying to get to the Ash, but it was too late.

The goddess watched Lauren's unsullied hand go to her lips, holding back a scream as she watched what she thought was reality unfold. She dropped down to her knees at the command of her Seraphim and grabbed the blood die again in trembling hands. She was still on the ground when she looked up towards the lights, her beautiful orbs dripping over the remaining five closest people in her life. With still shaking hands, she rolled the die deliberately this time, her eyes refusing to look up to see who she had condemned.

“Ah,” the goddess whispered as she watched Lauren turn her gaze to the portal of Earth. “She is too hard on herself.”

“She thinks she's killing them,” Tamsin replied, holding onto the doctor's hand just a little tighter.

“Indeed she does, but she is also witnessing her supposed choice and yet continuing to make it. She has no information to tell her this is true, but she still feels their death like a scar upon her soul. Almost as if all of the burden must be placed on her shoulders for fear of being-”

“Happy,” Tamsin finished, her lips kissing Lauren's hand before letting it down smoothly. Coming back around to peer into the mirror-portal, Tamsin frowned. She saw Bo screaming for the now eviscerated Trick as she tried to hack through the mob. The more Lauren rolled, the more blood was seeping through her fingers as the dice protruded more gore from itself. The numbers were also weaving and changing with the dwindling lights and was now down to one bone on each side of the die. The number, if rolled appropriately, would only go up to four- the remaining amount of people left- though no matter what it landed on it would force Lauren to break down even further.

Lauren rolled again, this time landing on three and watched on as Kenzi tripped and skewered her ankle by a piece of glass that had fallen from a window. Bo's reaction to it was heart wrenching as the Unholies descended upon the small girl. The die were practically swimming in the pool of blood they created in Lauren's hands and the doctor placed a closed fist to her temple and screamed. She was at her ropes end, it seemed, as she suddenly lifted her arm and threw the dice as hard as possible away from her.

Tamsin heard them screeching in the dark, they clattering on the stone and resounded as they finally came to a halt. Dyson's light went out, a grisly murder of similar fashion happening on the Earthen portal.

“No, that wasn't me!” Lauren cried, her body crumpling in on itself as she watched the scene unfold. Tamsin almost broke down herself seeing her doctor like this. It was not the violence that staggered her, but the pure and unadulterated helplessness that was seeping through her soul. “No,” Lauren whimpered as she looked to the two remaining women. “No, I can't do this.” Her Seraphim presumably yelled at her to choose again, the dice skittering back into the halo of light surging down onto her, before she picked them up and held them to her chest. The die only had one bone on either one now, the rest of the spots being voided by a swirling darkness. It was either one- Tamsin- or two- Bo. It was stacked against Tamsin and Lauren knew it too. But even so, Bo would also die if she rolled snake eyes.

It was fucked up, this all was too fucked up.

“What is the true purpose of this, mom?”

Freyja, who was far too interested at the unfolding events, tore her hazel eyes away for a moment to look at her daughter. “I told you: to see how strong she truly is.”

“She was strong enough to survive a transplant from Seraphim DNA into her bloodstream. Isn't that all that you needed?”

“Yes, this is true,” the goddess admitted. Holding up her hand to quiet her daughter from yelling indignation her way, she continued, “It is better this way. Now you will see if the woman you love is still holding strong, or if she will be devoured by her Seraph.”

As the woman spoke, trembling hands rolled snake eyes and the pitiful cries came again. This time, however, Tamsin noticed something as Lauren cradled her arms around herself. A bright light, brighter than the barrier around the last remaining people in the room, was exuding from Lauren's back. It seemed as if it was detaching from her, or perhaps running away in a sense, but it was gone in an instant as the doctor picked up the die again.

“I'll see you again, love,” Lauren whispered to the Tamsin doll. Without giving herself time to rethink her decision, Lauren dropped the die down onto the ground, closing her eyes just as Tamsin's light disappeared. Her weary eyes traveled over to the Earthen portal and watched as the valkyrie died with a smile on her face as her belly was ripped open. Lauren was still on her knees, her bloodied hand going up into her hair as she cradled her head and rocked.

“This is madness,” Tamsin said, shaking her head with disdain.

“More than you know, daughter.”

“Wait, why isn't she waking up?”

Freyja looked down to Tamsin with sadness in her eyes. “The test is not over yet.”

“What do you mean? There's no one else to kill!”

“There is always someone, or something, to kill...”

Tamsin's transparent green eyes swung back to the mirror. They widened as she realized Lauren was looking down at the die again that had skittered back into the barrier. As the human looked down, just as Tamsin saw it too, she took in the fact she was now standing on a bloodied red number zero. The human-fae looked at the dice again, seeing no number printed, and realized what the true test was. Her weary eyes looked back to the portal, it panning now to her own self walking out of the Dal slowly.

“I have too much to do to die now,” Lauren said shakily, though her hand no longer trembled. “I won't stop here!”

As her arm careened toward the ground, the dice with it, Lauren truly believed what she had said. Sniffling and heaving, the woman watched as nothing happened in the portal and smiled with no care behind it. It was all fake, it wasn't real, and now-

“Lauren!” Tamsin screamed just as the woman's smile was erased from her face.

Her body swayed forward then back again, as if stuck on something. Lauren made a face of confusion while she looked down as if to see what the strange feeling in her gut was. Her fingertips touched the condensed light softly, surprised that she could not feel the burn, before it was suddenly gone. She doubled over, coughing up warm liquid, before she fell onto her side.

Lauren looked up to the shining form of her Seraphim, it seeming to burn away all of the shadows around them, and to its light-sword soiled with lurid liquid. Blood, Lauren thought slowly as she tried to cover a hand over the wound in her stomach.

“No,” Tamsin said. “Open your eyes, Lauren. You open your eyes right now!” The valkyrie had gone back to the human's side, her hand caressing her cheek. “What have you done,” she screamed to her mother after a beat of silence. “What have you done!”

+++

 

The pain in Lauren's belly seemed to transport her back to her first assignment with Tamsin. Their home together, their wedding rings. The murderer in the night that had swung a ruthless looking dagger into her stomach and how she almost died then too. It was strange how something so similar, yet so different, could feel the same. It was if there was a dull ache in between the moments of sharp pain that wracked her body. Tamsin was with her last time, coaxing her to stay away, calling Dyson to prep the medical lab. How funny it seemed so far away in this moment. So much had happened that had devolved into this poignant affair and yet it seemed only yesterday Tamsin and she were happy. Truly happy.

Her whiskey orbs looked back to the burning gold of her Seraphim's. The woman standing before her was beautiful, though bathed in a golden sheen and made of sunlight. If she were anyone else, Lauren guessed her eyes would have already burned from her skull for looking into the Seraph's eyes for too long. Yet here she was, holding onto her wound while her head lied gently on the floor looking up into those golden spheres.

“I have to protect-” she tried to say, her words being choked in her throat.

“It is I who wills control,” the melodious voice of the Seraphim resounded into the stoned room. Lauren's mind translated the ancient Enochian as if a second language. The being spoke again, “You are now just a voice.”

Lauren couldn't feel her legs anymore and her skin felt cold as ice. She put more strain into her voice, her words trying to govern the power she knew she had, “I  _will_ protect them. You cannot stop me.”

“You are strong, but not enough.”

A surprisingly strong hand clamped down onto the Seraph's ankle. Squeezing, Lauren slowly pulled herself up to the surprise of the fae. The hand left her stomach as she gripped the Seraphim's shoulders tightly, her face inches away. ““Everything that I have done is for her. Everything that I  _will_ do is for her! You hold no sway over me, demon and you will listen to my command. I will no longer bow to any fae!” As she spoke the last sentence, it was if pulses after each word poured out of her and into the fae's body causing the light surrounding the Seraphim to beat brighter. “Now take... me... home,” Lauren finally said, raising her hand and pushing it  _through_ the fae's chest.

The Seraph looked surprised, its face contorting into a yell, before the rays of light were suddenly gone as it was enveloped into Lauren. The blonde looked down at herself, her hand slowly leaving the wound on her stomach, and nodded when she saw the laceration knitting itself back together again. The human-fae looked at her hands, now void of all blood, as they emitted brilliant light from them.

“She is at one with her fae.”

The disembodied voice resonated to the woman's core and she smiled that beautiful smile. “I'm coming, Tamsin,” she said as she looked upward.

I'm coming...

+++

 

As quickly as Lauren spoke from the portal, her body suddenly jolted upward with a hitch and a gasp. Tamsin, who was already at her side, practically jumped on top of her with a hug and a sigh of content.

“Where am I,” Lauren asked groggily.

“Back in the great hall,” Tamsin replied, letting the woman go and smiling wide. Looking over her slowly, making sure her body had not garnered any injury, she glanced back up to Lauren's eyes. “It was all fake. You didn't kill anyone in there.”

“Except your fae, of course,” Freyja interjected. “Not killed per say,” she reprimanded as Lauren looked at her warily, “but you have dominated it. If Tamsin had done this same test correctly the first time, her shell would not be stuck in Valhalla right now with her father.”

Tamsin sneered at her mother, practically sticking out her tongue, before she looked back to Lauren. Her hand still caressed the back of the woman's head, while her other was placed on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“I thought...” Lauren paused for a moment before looking into Tamsin's eyes and smiling. “I thought the Dawning trip would be the last time I would have to deal with mind altering shenanigans.”

The valkyrie laughed too, her giddy nature suddenly rearing its head. “Let's try to keep it down to two, shall we?”

“I agree wholeheartedly.”

Tamsin slid her forehead onto Lauren's as they both closed their eyes. Simply breathing each other in, the two stayed as such for some time before Freyja cleared her throat.

“That is all the time you shall have from this point on, I am sorry to say.”

“What do you mean?” Tamsin asked but was stopped from further inquiry by Lauren's hand on hers.

“The Unholies are about to be unleashed back on Earth. If that happens millions will die in the span of a few days.”

Freyja nodded solemnly. “I will create a portal that will lead you both to your father's kingdom, Tamsin. But if you cannot stop the girl from taking his power and unleashing hell on Earth, then the next time we see each other will be the last, daughter.”

With that the goddess waved her hand at her side and the crackling of lightning filled the room as the portal was created. It was swirling with blues, greens, and purples with flashes of lightning shooting forth from it.

The two, Lauren still in Tamsin's battle garb, approached it slowly. Lauren was still getting the hang of walking again, her being in her test still fresh on her mind, and Tamsin was simply not in the mood to see her father again so soon.

“Thank you, mother.”

A smiled played on the goddess lips as she watched the newfound fae nod with appreciation and to her daughter. As they disappeared into the portal, Freyja put a hand to her lips before blowing out a kiss to the departing women. “May we meet again, my dear children. Gods speed...”

Traveling through the portal was not something Lauren thought would ever grow easier with time. She was wrong as she maneuvered around this one, actually seeming to understand the speedy time passing as they catapulted through it. All too soon she was in a place of wood and stone, completely at odds between the golden hues of the great hall, and Lauren was even more surprised and happy she did not double over and vomit up her lunch.

There was a slight ringing in her ears, however, and as she looked up to a burly man sitting atop a throne, she heard Tamsin speak after hesitance and silence.

“Hey, daddy-o. Miss me?”

 


	13. Blood Repaid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to pay a visit to Odin the Allfather. Or as Tamsin likes to call him: dad.

The air around Lauren was stale yet charged with anticipation. It was hard to breathe in this space even though the ceiling was yards above them and the room was massive. Tamsin was strained, Lauren could see it in her muscles as they tightened, and the doctor slowly slipped her hand into her lover's from behind. The rigidness of the valkyrie softened slightly, her green orbs still pinned on her father's crystal, and she nodded her appreciation to the human-fae.

Lauren continued to take in her surroundings, but most notably Odin's. He had a long proper beard that stretched to his chest and in his hand he carried a dangerous looking spear. His left eye did not move with his right, and it had many veins protruding from all around it. It was as if someone had torn the muscle from its socket before the great god plucked it from the ground, uncaring of the ruined home for it, and returned the eye to its original point of being. Lauren was not as researched as she should have been with the god, and thus she could not tell why or what had caused such an injury to the man though she doubted she truly wanted to know.

He wore a wizened cloak, similar to old rags, but Lauren guessed it was to downplay his power. Odin was in his home after all, there was no way someone who looked so tired could possibly be the ruler of the vast kingdom of Asgard. The huffing of breath drew the doctor's attention to either side of the giant throne where she saw two enormous wolves, their eyes bright purple and yellow respectfully, glaring at the newcomers. Likewise Lauren heard rustling above her and saw two ravens coming from some hidden doorway in the ceiling to perch on either side of the chair Odin sat upon. Their claws made a soft tinging sound in the room, proving its wonderful acoustics, and the woman wondered if there were large banquets or other charades the throne room had seen over the millennia.

Everyone's coming to see the new arrivals, she thought to herself, holding back her scowl. Lauren continued to look around the room, the silver tones, stone, and wood were so at odds from Freyja's home of gold and metal and it made the woman think of what other changes these two locations had. Freyja received half of the warriors that die on the battlefield into her home while Odin had the other, presumably meaning there should be a plethora of valkyries- or at least warriors in general- crowding around the halls to see the newcomers. But as the doctor looked about the room, there was no one in sight- a strange occurrence seeing as there was talk of Ætta being here already.

A gasp left her lips as she looked behind her finally towards the area closer to the door. Lauren's hand slipped away from Tamsin's as she bolted elsewhere towards one of the many columns in the room and dropped to her knees. Tamsin didn't even look back, still staring at her nonspeaking father, as Lauren's fingers brushed delicately over a throat. She waited a moment before cursing under her breath, looking at the wound that made the woman's body slick with blood. Her eyes darted back towards the woman's face, her hands hovering in the air just above the figure, before closing her eyes and gulping.

"Not going to say anything, dad?" Tamsin said, finally cutting the charged air with her sarcastic quip. She must have known her physical form laid just a few feet away but she never turned to acknowledge the corpse.

Odin hummed out an answer, the walls seeming to reverberate with its resonance, before his long fingers tapped about his spear. "You left to be with your mother, Thomisina. A hard strike against me, if I may confess."

Tamsin's shoulders rolled in a shrug, her head cocking to the side in an uncaring manner. "Your morals are pretty, let's just say, fucked up." She raised her hand and pointed a thumb behind her. "Letting a girl whom you personally clipped into your throne room and then letting her kill my body kinda speaks for itself."

"You speak as if you wished for the Shadow Soul to continue to live in your body. Your pet can stitch and heal the flesh at your command."

"She's not a pet," Tamsin interjected. Her voice was low, forceful, and it made Lauren look up from the corpse in front of her. Even now, against her very own father, the valkyrie was trying to protect her honor. She continued, "And you know as well as I that thing was not just a Shadow. It was my valkyrie disconnecting from me and decided to go on a rampage with my body. You know, the body you refused to help me get control of."

"And your mother did?" Odin questioned.

"She helped more than you!"

"So, in other words, not at all. If this lesser fae had not acted upon her own will, you would have never come this close to your body."

Tamsin paused at that, her fist clenching. Turning her head slightly, she spoke to her lover, "Lauren, your fae has the ability of resurgence. Just concentrate and bring my body back to life, would you?"

"That would not be wise."

The valkyrie sighed, looking back at her father. "And why is that?"

Odin shifted in his throne. The ravens seemed to jitter slightly, their claws clacking against the chair, before they settled back in. "Your valkyrie is still rife in that body. To mend the flesh, to reach into the space between worlds and breathe life back into that shell, would also bring the First back as well."

"Then I'll just have to kick her ass now won't I." It wasn't a question and Tamsin glared daggers at her father.

"Do you really want that, daughter?" Odin's voice became melodious, more so than it was, and it was so smooth it practically glided over the women's eardrums. "Do you truly wish to return to a mortal shell to live out your days to die? You are on your last life time in that walking corpse but here... here you are free."

"I'm in a state or constant death _here_!" Tamsin retorted hotly. It was as if every thought she had been thinking for the past few days had exploded out of her as her arms began to move to emphasize her words. "You've beat it into me a valkyries entire life is to live, serve, and die only to be pulled from the ashes and rise again. And now you beg for me to stay here! No, dad, my life is on Earth."

Odin's massive form rose from his chair slowly as Tamsin spoke. Through his ragged appearance you could see real power underneath, swirling and aching to be released, but the man held it tight to his hidden bosom. "My daughter, you are beautiful, strong, agile. Your brothers and I have trained you well as such, but down there... down there you are weak, slow, _ugly_. I know I have done wrong in demanding my own beloved to dawn such a shell, but sweet child I am trying to rectify it now. You cannot die here. You cannot grow old and haggard. You may sweep your precious feet along the Seeing Lake and look upon your humans and lesser fae. Your place is here by my side, not down there to a world doomed to strife and destruction."

Green orbs looked towards the spear in her father's hand with care before she glared into crystal eyes. He was right, of course he was right. It would have been a lie to say she had not thought of the same thing countless times while with her mother, but she also knew it was impossible to keep Lauren and all of her friends up there with her. She would doom them to death while she watched them, and that just didn't sit well with her. The valkyrie would rather destine herself to their same fate if only to show them all wrong. She wasn't just an asshole who only cared about herself. No, she was a valkyrie and she was strong. She loved just as she wanted to be loved. And Tamsin resigned herself to fight with her allies not to prove just how great at dying she really was, but to show them how to truly live...

The blonde crossed her arms, sighing deeply, as she coalesced her thoughts. Where once a grimace was on her face now was a soft smile as she looked back up towards her father. Her breathing seemed slow and deliberate and for the first time since being next to her father, Tamsin seemed calm. "Father," she began, unfolding her arms, "please do this one thing for me. When Lauren brings back my valkyrie, my body, subdue her for me so that I can get back inside. Don't let her run amok anymore in your kingdom. Don't let your daughter risk her life again to reign her in. Use Gungnir to overcome the First and give me a chance to reclaim that power. With it, it doesn't matter if I'm on my last life or not. Her power, the power that has always been inside of me, will be able to keep me alive for centuries to come. If you truly wish to see me happy, to see me healthy, then do this for me, father... please."

Silence fell upon the room again though unlike when they first arrived, it seemed palpable. Lauren felt as if she could reach out and simply touch the soft energy resonating from either gods but as Odin took a step off of his throne, she was snapped out of her daydream.

The rags he bore shimmered with silver light as he walked slowly towards his daughter. It was so blinding Lauren thought if she had not been inscribed with fae DNA she could not bare to look directly at it. There were moments of piercing sound as the man's spear hit the ground, almost as if it was also his walking stick, before the light faded and in the place of his robes was a marvelous set of armor. It was so otherworldly Lauren could not describe it, though it reminded her of Dyson's old armor and her own when they were in the make-shift Dawning plane to save Tamsin. That seemed like ages ago, the human-fae thought lightly as she watched the events unfold.

Odin was right in front of Tamsin in no more than a few moments. His spear was at his side, his long cloak running away from him as the train was long and billowing, and he looked down to his daughter. Clearing his throat he finally spoke, "Then, my daughter, tell this human-fae to get her hands to work."

There was a twinge at the side of Tamsin's mouth but no more than that as she looked back to Lauren slowly and nodded her head. "Thank you, father."

"You should not thank me, but your prodigy."

As quickly as it took Tamsin to soften, her walls were back up again. She glared at her father, then about the room, as she said, "Where is she?"

Odin witnessed Lauren's ability first hand as the human-fae lowered her hands inside of the shell and a bright light exuded from them. "After betraying the First, she realized she could not defeat me even with the power she held." Lauren's hands moved inside of the fae's body, almost as if she was a mortician and she was required to remove the organs from the body. "Thus she resigned herself to travel back to Earth with the key of unlocking the Abominations. By the time you are done here, you will be greeted with the downfall of mankind."

Lauren's delicate hands lifted themselves from the shell's body, they strangely not being coated in any blood, as she looked down to the closed wound of the valkyrie. As instantly as the stab wound was healed, however, purple eyes flared to being from the valkyrie's body and her throat was squeezed tightly. The dirty blonde tried to speak, hit the woman's hand away from her, but before she could do either a golden spear came raining down into her vision. The prongs of the spear came to rest on either side of the valkyrie's head, trapping her on the ground, and Odin swiftly did his business.

A flash of light.

Disorientation.

The doctor tried to blink away the sun spots from her eyes as her hand was clasped gently. Centering her attention, she finally saw a sight for very sore eyes. A sigh of relief escaped her as she lunged at the green eyed valkyrie and was pulled into a large hug.

Looking up to the man, Lauren breathed out a, "Thank you..." before closing her eyes again and hugging Tamsin- who was now rightfully in her own body.

Odin nodded kindly, looking at either women. "You make her strong, human-fae. Or perhaps she is strong for you; time will only tell. Thomisina, you have your body back and still retain the power over your First valkyrie. I will not be there for you always, girl. You must learn to control it by yourself."

"In time," Tamsin said through gritted teeth. She was trying hard not to cry, it seemed.

"I'll help her," Lauren offered. She was definitely crying a little.

"There will be a time where you will resent that answer, doctor," Odin said, his voice sullen. Raising his hand so that Lauren could not retort, he continued, "If you wish to stand beside your loved ones as the end of the world is unleashed, you should go now."

Tamsin sniffled, blinking her eyes rapidly so as to try to get her emotions together. "Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death is come, we are not..."

"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent," Lauren began, nodding to Tamsin and smiling slightly. "Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?" She stopped and looked to the great god beside her. "Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" Turning back to her lover she allowed a gentle smile to pass over her lips. "I didn't know you knew Epicurus."

"He was a pretty chill guy." Tamsin bellowed a laugh as Lauren's eyes grew wide. "Come on," she said, patting the doctor on the back and looking back to her father. "We've got the end of the world to catch.

* * *

 

 

Kenzi moved just a little closer to Hale as they both stood with their backs against the wooden bar. Her hand was clasped in his, their eyes watching as Bo went over their defensive tactic yet again. Trick sighed as Dyson stepped from his lair with a weapon in hand. The man pointed toward the table already filled with numerous sharp devices and the wolf-shifter shuffled to put down the heavy contraption.

Crystal orbs again flowed over Bo as she sighed deeply, asking once more about the defenses against the Abominations that were definitely coming.

"The door to the Dal," Trick explained for the third time, "is barred by sigils and runes of the highest caliber. Any who mean harm to this place cannot just walk in, Bo."

The succubus sighed heavily, thrumming her fingers on the pool table as she looked over the weapons. Kenzi had a feeling she wasn't actually looking at the axes, swords, and clubs on the greenery as she watched the woman bite her lip.

In truth Bo was thinking about Lauren and, of course, Tamsin and deep down she wished there wasn't a living army about to knock on her door and instead pick up a game of billiards with the valkyrie. That life seemed so far behind them all. She longed for it again, realizing how laughingly it was only a few days ago that it was the case, and she wondered how many days they would have to live this life now. How much stock could the succubus put into one day of killing if it felt like an eternity? Or worse, years passing and it feeling like so much longer. She couldn't just allow this to happen, she wished there was something she could do to stop it. Not for her own sake but for those standing all around her now. They didn't deserve this, hell, _she_ didn't deserve this.

Bo had opened her mouth, trying to speak of the plan again, before the crack of the air caught all of their attentions. It seemed as if lightning had entered the room, coupled with a tornado, because whatever was forming on top of one of the pool tables was not of this world. In fact, Bo surmised, it could have been one of the Abominations coming to attack way sooner than they all had predicted. It was this reason why the succubus picked up a spear and aimed it toward the whirling vortex in the middle of the room, and it was the reason why before she knew what was going to come out of it she threw the weapon with all her might.

There was a surprised holler from the portal, something that made Bo's heart sink, before two blondes came into view with all the suave and pose like Arnold butt naked. They both rose from the table as if they knew they were in some Grade A action flick and looked at everyone there.

Lauren gave a happy, yet dorky, wave while Tamsin air gunned them all.

"So," the valkyrie said, "you miss us?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for choosing to read Serenity Falls! Comments, reviews, and suggestions are awesome and welcomed. Hope you stick with it!


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